Editing Candy corn (section)

==History==
[[File:Original candy corn.jpg|thumb|An early advertisement for Goelitz candy corn]]

"Chicken Feed" was the original candy name, with production starting in the late 1880s.<ref name=Broek>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bhg.com/halloween/recipes/the-history-of-candy-corn/ |title=Broek, Sara. "The History of Candy Corn: A Halloween Candy Favorite", ''Better Homes and Gardens'' |access-date=2014-10-29 |archive-date=2023-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328215357/https://www.bhg.com/halloween/recipes/the-history-of-candy-corn/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was first invented in the 1880s by a Wunderle Candy Company employee, George Renninger.<ref name=":2">{{Cite magazine|last=Waxman|first=Olivia B.|date=2013-10-30|title=A brief history of candy corn for Nat'l Candy Corn Day|language=en-US|magazine=Time|url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/30/an-oral-history-of-candy-corn-the-most-polarizing-confection-of-them-all/|access-date=2020-10-12|issn=0040-781X|archive-date=2020-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007153129/https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/30/an-oral-history-of-candy-corn-the-most-polarizing-confection-of-them-all/|url-status=live}}</ref> Wunderle Candy Company was the first to produce the candy in 1888.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wunderle's Candy: Our claim to fame |url=https://wunderlecandy.com/ |publisher=Wunderle's Candy |access-date=3 July 2020 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807175910/https://wunderlecandy.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Goelitz Confectionery Company, now called [[Jelly Belly]], began manufacturing the product in 1898.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Schmidt|first=Ann|date=2019-10-30|title=Candy corn sales expected to top $73M: How Halloween's controversial treat got its start|url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/candy-corn-what-to-know-halloween|access-date=2020-10-12|website=FOXBusiness|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029124700/https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/candy-corn-what-to-know-halloween|url-status=live}}</ref> 

While Jelly Belly still makes candy corn, the largest manufacturer of candy corn is [[Brach's|Brach's Confections]] owned by the [[Ferrara Candy Company]].<ref name=":3" /> Brach's makes approximately 7 billion pieces of candy corn per year and possesses 85 percent of the total share of the candy corn industry during the Halloween season.<ref name=":3" />

Along with other agriculture-inspired treats in the late 19th century, America's confectioners sought to market candy corn to a largely rural society.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lewis|first1=Danny|title=Candy Corn Hasn't Changed Since the 19th Century|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/candy-corn-hasnt-changed-19th-century-180957107/|website=Smithsonian.com|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=21 September 2017|archive-date=6 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006001820/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/candy-corn-hasnt-changed-19th-century-180957107/|url-status=live}}</ref> During the late 19th century, "butter cream" candies molded into many types of nature-inspired shapes, including [[chestnut]]s, [[turnip]]s, and [[clover]] leaves, were quite popular but what made candy corn stand out was its bright and iconic tri-color layering.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Kawash|first=Samira|date=2010-10-30|title=Where Our Love/Hate Relationship With Candy Corn Comes From|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/10/where-our-love-hate-relationship-with-candy-corn-comes-from/65428/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007032211/https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/10/where-our-love-hate-relationship-with-candy-corn-comes-from/65428/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although it is currently most popular in the fall, candy corn was only sometimes associated with the fall and Halloween seasons. For the first half of the 20th century, candy corn was a well-known "penny candy" or [[bulk confectionery]]. It was advertised as an affordable and popular treat that could be eaten year-round.<ref name=":4" />

Candy corn developed into a fall and Halloween staple around the 1950s when people began to hand out individually wrapped candy to [[Trick-or-treating|trick-or-treaters]]. The harvest-themed colors and increased advertising in October also helped candy corn become a fall staple.<ref name=":4" />

The [[National Confectioners Association]] has deemed October 30, the day before Halloween, "National Candy Corn Day".<ref name=":2" />