Prompt Cast
The History and Revival of Neco Wafers
TLDR Neco Wafers, a candy with a 170-year history, were once popular among soldiers during the Civil War and World War II. After a decline in sales, the original recipe was brought back by Spangler in 2020, making them available for delivery during the COVID pandemic.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Neco Wafers are a candy that is not very popular and is often associated with older generations.
02:10
Neco Wafers are a 170-year-old candy that comes in a tube and has dusty, chalky, and weirdly colored wafers with flavors like lemon, lime, orange, clove, cinnamon, wintergreen, licorice, and chocolate.
04:15
Neco Wafers are essentially the same as those little heart-shaped candies, but without the messages, and they have flavors like "email me" and "grab a glass of water" these days.
06:08
NECA wafers, which predate the company itself and almost every popular candy, were packed in soldiers' rations during the Civil War, although there is some debate about this claim.
09:04
During World War II, the government took over the NECA factory and gave a portion of their production to soldiers because NECA wafers were portable and had a high calorie density.
11:10
Spangler, the company that owns NECCO wafers, changed the recipe to make it less artificially flavored and colored, resulting in a 35% drop in sales, so they went back to the original recipe.
13:15
Neco wafers were purchased by Spangler in 2018 and reissued in 2020, and they can now be delivered during COVID for about $3 a tube.
Categories:
Society & Culture
