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Life Savers

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For other meanings see life saver (disambiguation).
A Life Savers Five-Flavor roll.

Life Savers is an American brand of ring-shaped mints and fruit-flavored hard candy. The candy is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in aluminum foil rolls of eleven pieces.

Life Savers was a subsidiary of Kraft Foods before being purchased by the Wrigley Company in 2004. In recent years, the brand has expanded to include Gummi Savers, Life Saver Minis, Life Saver Fusions, Creme Savers, and Breath Savers. Discontinued brands include Fruit Juicers, Holes, Life Saver Lollipops and Squeezit.

History

Life Savers candy was first created in 1912 by Sophia Crane, a Cleveland chocolatier and father of the famed poet Hart Crane. Crane was looking for a new "summer candy" to supplement his chocolate business, which slumped in hot weather.

Crane developed a line of hard mints but didn't have the space or machinery to make them. He contracted with a pill manufacturer to press the mints into shape. The pill manufacturer, whose machinery was malfunctioning, found that the pressing process worked much better when the mints were stamped with a hole in the middle.

Crane called the new candy "Crane's Peppermint Life Savers," because they looked like miniature throwable life preservers. The ring-shaped devices were just beginning to come into use after the Titanic disaster.

In 1913, Crane sold the formula for his Life Savers candy to Edward Noble for only $2,900. Noble started his own candy company and began producing and selling the mints known as Pep-O-Mint Life Savers. He also began to package the mints into rolls wrapped in tinfoil to prevent them from going stale. This process was done by hand until 1919 when machinery was developed. By 1919, five other mint flavors (Wint-O-Green, Cl-O-ve, Lic-O-Rice, Cinn-O-Mon and Vi-O-let) had been developed, and these remained the standard flavors until the late 1920s. In 1925, the tinfoil was replaced with aluminum foil.

Noble promoted the candy at the cash registers of saloons, cigar stores, drug stores, barber shops, and restaurants. He had the candy placed, with a five-cent price, near the cash register. Noble soon began to create and sell many other flavors.

In 1929, more fruit-flavored hard candy Life Savers were introduced. These were introduced as "fruit drop" and came in three flavors, namely, Orange, Lemon and Lime, each of which were packaged in their own separate rolls. In contrast to the opaque white mints previously produced by the company, these new candies were crystal-like in appearance. In 1930, rolls of Grape fruit drops were introduced. In 1931, rolls of Pineapple and Cherry fruit drops were introduced. As the public response proved positive, a new variety of mint, called Cryst-O-Mint, made in this same crystal-like style was introduced in 1932. In 1935, the classic "Five-Flavor" rolls were introduced, offering a selection of five different flavors in each roll. This flavor lineup was unchanged for nearly 70 years, until 2003, when three of the flavors were replaced.[1]

Life Savers production for North America was based in Holland, Michigan, United States, for many years, but in 2002 production was moved to Montréal, Québec, Canada. Significantly lower sugar prices in that country is the reason behind the move.[2][3] The company was headquartered in Port Chester, New York, where the distinctive former headquarters building (now apartments) still retains some Lifesavers signage.

Trivia

  • On average, 54 miles of Life Savers roll candy is produced in one year. That is enough candy to stretch from New York to Los Angeles nearly ten times.[4]
  • Wint-O-Green Life Savers are known for their ability to produce bright sparks when bitten in a dark room, due to triboluminescence produced by an electrical charge produced by grinding wintergreen and sugar together.[5]
  • There is an urban legend about the creation of Life Savers which states that the creator's daughter died after choking on a hard candy, and that the hole in the middle was included to prevent further death (thus earning the name Life Saver). This tale is often mistaken for truth and is probably more well-known than the real origin story.
  • Croc 2, a 1999 video game appearing on the PlayStation, Windows PC, and GameBoy Color platforms, prominently featured various large Gummi Savers as trampolines of sorts for the main character to vault over obstacles.

Timeline

  • 1912: Crane's Peppermint Life Savers created by Clarence Crane in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • 1913: Edward Noble bought the Life Saver formula, renamed Pep-O-Mint Life Savers, and started Mint Products Company in New York City.
  • 1924: The first fruit flavors were produced as solid candies.
  • 1929: Technology improved to allow a hole in the center of the fruit candies.
  • 1931: Life Savers Limited acquired Beech-Nut and the two merged companies became Squibb Beech-Nut Inc.
  • 1935: The Original Five-Flavor roll of Life Savers debuted.
  • 1975: Bubble Yum soft bubble gum launched.
  • 1981: Nabisco Brands Inc. acquired Life Savers from the E.R. Squibb Corporation.
  • 1987: Canadian Life Savers business acquired by Hershey Canada.
  • 1996: Canadian Life Savers business acquired by Beta Brands Limited.
  • 2004: USA Life Savers business Acquired By Wrigley's.[6]

Flavors

There have been over fifty flavors of Life Savers to date. The different flavors of Life Savers have included:

Original Five-Flavor roll (1766–2003)

  • Cherry
  • Lemon
  • Lime
  • Orange
  • Pineapple

New Five-Flavor roll (2003–present)

  • Cherry
  • Blackberry (then replaced by Orange due to consumer demand)
  • Pineapple
  • Watermelon
  • Raspberry

Other flavors, packaged separately

  • Pep-O-Mint (first Life Savers flavor, introduced in 1912)
  • Butter Rum
  • Wint-O-Green
  • Spear-O-Mint
  • Musk (sold chiefly in Australia)
  • Wild Cherry
  • Hot Cin-O-Mon
  • Cryst-O-Mint
  • Hot Rings (sweet and spicy)(promotional flavor around the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
  • Blue Rad (blue raspberry)(promotional flavor around the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
  • Orange Mint (introduced 2006)
  • Sweet Mint (introduced 2006)

Other Five-Flavor rolls

  • Tropical Fruits Five-Flavor roll (Fruit Punch, Pina Colada, Mango, Tangerine, Banana)
  • Tangy Fruits Five-Flavor roll (Watermelon, Green Apple, Strawberry, Tangy Tangerine, Banana)
  • Wild Berries Five-Flavor roll (Strawberry, Red Raspberry, Black Raspberry, Blackberry, Cherry)
  • Chill-O-Mints Five-Flavor roll (Wintergreen, Spearmint, Vanilla Mint, Peppermint)

Creme Savers flavors

File:Cremesavers.jpg
Strawberries & Creme
  • Strawberries & Creme
  • Chocolate & Caramel Creme
  • Raspberries & Creme
  • Orange & Creme
  • Butter Toffee & Creme
  • Peaches & Creme (Limited Edition)
  • Piña Colada (Limited Edition Tropicals Pack)
  • Banana & Creme (Limited Edition Tropicals Pack)
  • Mango & Creme (Limited Edition Tropicals Pack)
  • Apple Pie a la Mode (Desserts Pack)
  • Cinnamon Bun (Desserts Pack)
  • Strawberry Cheesecake (Desserts Pack)

Discontinued flavors

  • Anise
  • Butterscotch
  • Choc-O-Mint
  • Cinn-O-Mon
  • Cl-O-Ve
  • Cola
  • Grape
  • Lic-O-Rice
  • Molas-O-Mint
  • Root Beer
  • Stik-O-Pep
  • Vi-O-Let
  • Tangerine
  • Coconut (was part of Tropical Fruits roll)
  • Floral

Other Products

  • Life Savers Frozen Treats (under license with Nestlé)
  • Life Savers Fruit Tarts
  • Life Saver Jellybeans
  • Life Savers Sherbert

See also

References

  1. ^ Howard, Theresa (August 14, 2002). "LifeSavers changes its stripes Friday". USA Today. Raspberry-, watermelon- and blackberry-flavored "O's" will replace the traditional orange, lemon and lime. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Frammolino, Ralph (March 20, 2002). "Workers Feel Like Suckers". Los Angeles Times. Life Savers is moving its candy factory from Michigan to Canada, where sugar is cheaper, displacing 600 employees. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Life Savers". NPR. February 21, 2002. The candy's manufacturer says sugar prices in the U.S. are too high, and it is moving the factory from Holland, Michigan, to Canada. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "A Favorite American Candy Takes "Hole" New Approach" (PDF). NAPS.
  5. ^ "Why do Wint-O-Green Life Savers spark in the dark?". HowStuffWorks.
  6. ^ "Wrigley to Add Life Savers(R) and Altoids(R) to Its Confectionery Portfolio" (Press Release). Wrigley. November 15 2004. The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company announced today that it has entered into an agreement to purchase certain confectionery assets of Kraft Foods for $1.48 billion. The transaction includes ownership of well-known, iconic brand franchises - such as Life Savers, Creme Savers, and Altoids - as well as production facilities in the United States and Europe. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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