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Life
Savers were invented in Cleveland, Ohio in 1912 by Clarence
A. Crane who was looking for a new candy to supplement his
chocolate business that slumped in the hot weather. He
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 machine was malfunctioning, found
that the pressing process worked much better when the had
mints were stamped out with a hole in the middle. He called
the new candy "Cranes Life Savers" because they
looked like miniature life preservers.
Crane
sold the formula for Life Savers in 1913 for $2900 to Edward
J. Noble. The mints became officially known as Pep-O-Mint
Life Savers. Noble's contribution was to package the mints
into rolls wrapped in tin foil to prevent them from going
stale. The process was done by hand until 1919 when
machinery was developed. In 1925 aluminum foil was used for
the first time.
Mr.
Noble promoted his candy at the cash registers of saloons,
cigar stores, drug stores, barbers shops and restaurants. He
had the candy placed, with a five-cents price, near the case
register. He then requested that the cashier made sure that
each customer, regardless of what he or she bought, got a
nickel in the change being returned. Most people used the
nickel to purchase the candy with a hole in the middle. The
idea moved like wild fire and Noble's fortune was on the
way. |
