12 Questions
Which snack brand is known for producing 83 million Tootsie Rolls a day?
Tootsie Roll Industries
Where were potato chips invented accidentally in 1853?
New York
Which company competes with Interstate Bakeries and owns the Hostess brand?
Flowers Bakeries
In which state does Flowers Foods produce 64 varieties of snack cakes?
Tennessee
What is the final step in the cupcake production line before packaging?
Cooling in a tempering tunnel
When did Utz Quality Foods start and expand to produce over one million pounds of potato chips a week?
1921
When was the mass-produced American chocolate bar created?
1894
Which ancient cultures were known for creating confections from nuts, fruits, and honey?
Arabs and Chinese
What enabled the production of solid chocolate leading to the creation of the mass-produced American chocolate bar?
Manual cocoa press by C.J. Van Houten
Who established Mars, Inc. with the success of the Milky Way bar?
Frank Mars
Which candy underwent a complex production process involving ingredients like egg white, corn syrup, and peanut butter?
Snickers
What revolutionized candy manufacturing in 1947, allowing mass production of products like M&Ms and Snickers bars?
Continuous processing
Study Notes
- Snack food industry emphasizes productivity and speed, constantly improving machinery to keep up with consumer demands.
- The US alone sells $20-25 billion worth of confectionery products annually, with Mars, Inc. generating $16 billion in sales worldwide.
- Mars, Inc. produces over 30 million pieces of candy daily, equivalent to nearly 100,000 metric tons per year.
- History of candy-making dates back to ancient times, with cultures like Egyptians, Arabs, and Chinese creating confections from nuts, fruits, and honey.
- Chocolate's history traces back to Mesoamerica, with cocoa trees cultivated by the Maya; Europeans only developed creamy solid chocolate 300 years later.
- C.J. Van Houten's manual cocoa press in 1828 enabled the production of solid chocolate, leading to the creation of the mass-produced American chocolate bar by Milton Hershey in 1894.
- Mars, Inc. was established with the success of the Milky Way bar, created by Frank Mars in 1923, later expanding to produce Snickers and 3 Musketeers bars in Chicago.
- Continuous processing revolutionized candy manufacturing in 1947, allowing mass production of various products like M&Ms, Milky Way, and Snickers bars at Masterfoods USA.
- Snickers bars undergo a complex production process involving ingredients like egg white, corn syrup, peanut butter, caramel, and chocolate, with strict monitoring of time, temperature, and humidity.
- The final steps in Snickers bar production include cooling, caramel application, enrobing in tempered chocolate, vibration to remove air bubbles, and wrapping at rates of 800-900 bars per minute.
- Snickers remains one of the world's top-selling confectionery brands, with global sales reaching two billion dollars, alongside other popular products like M&Ms, Twix, Starburst, Skittles, Milky Way, Kudos, 3 Musketeers, M-Azing bars, and Pop'ables.- The company behind popular snacks is privately held and run by the fourth generation of the Mars family, with products sold in over 100 countries.
- Potato chips are a popular snack made from special potatoes grown in Pennsylvania, the "potato chip belt," where companies like Utz Quality Foods originated.
- Potato chips were invented accidentally in 1853 by George Crum in New York, after a customer complained about thick French fries.
- Utz Quality Foods started in 1921 in Hanover, Pennsylvania, with modest beginnings but later expanded to produce one million pounds of potato chips a week in over 100 varieties.
- Snyder's of Hanover, known for pretzels, began in 1909, grew significantly in the '60s with hard pretzels, and later expanded to introduce various flavors and shapes.
- Tootsie Rolls, created by Leo Hirshfield in 1896, are produced in staggering quantities, with the Chicago plant making 83 million Tootsie Rolls a day.
- Tootsie Roll Industries expanded to include various brands like Dots, Crows, Charleston Chew, and Andes Candies, becoming a confectionery empire.
- Tootsie Pops, another popular product, are cooked, cooled, and stretched like Tootsie Rolls but have a different manufacturing process.
- Flowers Foods in Crossville, Tennessee, produces 64 varieties of snack cakes, with the bakery running an auto-bake inline system that can produce 170,000 loaves of bread a day.
- The bakery uses continuous process technology to produce over 80 million pounds of product annually, with sophisticated mixing, baking, and filling processes to maintain consistency and quality.- The cupcake production line involves cleaning and greasing pans, filling them with batter, icing the cupcakes, and cooling them in a tempering tunnel before packaging.
- Quality control points in the cupcake production line allow for visual inspection and ensure the cupcakes meet standards.
- Flowers Bakeries competes with Interstate Bakeries, the largest wholesale baker in the country, which owns the Hostess brand.
- Twinkies are baked products and not chemically engineered. The myth that they can survive a nuclear holocaust remains unverified.
- The ice cream industry in the US produces 1.4 billion gallons of ice cream per year, with Americans consuming 20 quarts per person annually.
- Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, the largest ice cream manufacturer in the US, operates seven plants and produces 55 million dozens of frozen snacks and 6.5 million gallons of packaged ice cream annually.
- Dreyer's ice cream flavors have expanded from vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry to over 90 different flavors, shapes, and configurations.
- Snacks have become more convenient and grab-and-go, leading to concerns about obesity. Some argue that natural foods are healthier than processed ones.
Explore the rich history and evolution of the snack food industry, from ancient confections to modern-day candy bars and potato chips. Learn about key innovations, popular products, and major companies shaping the world of snacks.
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