People are only now realising the bizarre reason behind Snickers’ name
- Snickers is a household name that every chocolate fan has tried at least once
- However, most people don’t know the bizarre origin of its name
- READ MORE: Chocolate lovers delight after learning the drama behind M&M’s
Snickers is a household name that every chocolate lover will have tried at least once – it’s even dubbed ‘the world’s best-selling chocolate bar’ by the Mars Company.
If you’ve never had a Snickers, you will at least recognise the famous slogans from their adverts: ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ and ‘get some nuts!’
The iconic American chocolate bar is made of nougat, topped with caramel and peanuts, and encased in milk chocolate.
It first hit the shelves in 1930 and according to the Mars Company website, it’s still ‘at the top.’
Despite its success, most people don’t know the unique backstory behind the chocolate bar’s name.
Despite it’s success, most people don’t know the unique backstory behind the chocolate bar’s name
The bizarre backstory
It all started back in 1911, almost twenty years before snickers was born – Frank and Ethel Mars started a sweets factory, which turned out to be unsuccessful.
However, their next idea, the ‘Mar-o-Bar’ company, which later turned into Mars Company, was a fantastic success – their first popular product was the much-loved Milky Way chocolate bar.
The couple’s success meant they had some spare cash to splash, so they decided to buy a huge 3,000-acre horse breeding farm in Tennessee, according to Mashed.
Their new farm was called ‘The Milky Way Farm’ to celebrate their achievement.
Sadly, Ethel’s favourite horse died just before the nameless snickers bar went into production.
As you may have guessed, the horse was called Snickers, so the pair decided to name the peanut chocolate bar in his honour.
The bar was manufactured in Chicago and sold for just five cents.
Sadly, Ethel’s favourite horse died just before the nameless snickers bar went into production (stock image)
However, it’s always been a name that stuck – Snickers was actually named the Marathon Bar in the UK between 1967-1990.
This is because the original name rhymes with ‘knickers’ so to avoid controversy, they decided to change it.
Thankfully, in 1990 Mars wanted universal names for their products so changed it back to Snickers.
Although, some UK fans refused to buy the newly named bar as they were so attached to it being called ‘Marathon Bar,’ despite the recipe being the same.
In 1968 the full sized Snickers bar that we know today was created, following an increase in ‘satisfaction levels worldwide.’
After huge popularity, in 1989 the Snickers ice cream bar was created, followed by the award-winning ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ campaign was introduced in 2010.
Who is Frank Mars?
With his love for candy, he took over a wholesale candy firm in Minneapolis- in the same year he married his wife Ethel
Frank Mars, born in 1883, was the founder of Mars Company – when he was a child he had polio and learned how to hand dip the chocolate candy during his illness.
He reportedly loved to experiment and create new candy recipes.
At 19, he discovered a talent for creating Molasses chips (buttercream candies) and would sell them at home and to local stores.
With his love for candy, he took over a wholesale candy firm in Minneapolis- in the same year he married his wife Ethel.
In 1911 he moved to Seattle and experimented with candy manufacturing – it took a few tries but eventually The Mar-o-Bar company, was born and the rest is history.
After an inspiration lifetime in the chocolate industry, Frank passed away in 1933 after collapsing on the floor of his Chicago factory.
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