One of the best things about being a kid is—you guessed it—candy! From Halloween to Valentine’s Day to the special dish at Grandma’s house, candy is a central part of creating great memories as a child. And let’s not forget all the businesses that gave out candy for free (free!), like when your mom would pull lollipops from the magical canister at the bank.
At Spangler Candy, we love thinking back about some of those bulk candies that made life sweet “back in the day.” Here are a few of our favorites:
1. Dum Dums
Of course, you can’t think of candy from your childhood without remembering Dum Dums! These little pops were the only reason we ever wanted to take a trip with Mom or Dad to the bank, where this candy seemed to live by the hundreds in baskets at the high teller counter. Now when we visit our local financial institution as adults, we still grab one or two of these pops that continue to boast 16 flavors plus the Mystery flavor.
These buttery hard candies were often a staple in Grandma’s candy dish, but they also graced many a basket at our favorite restaurants, the bank, or church. To this day, it’s hard not to unwrap one of these treats and not be taken back to a warm summer day running errands with Mom or Dad.
These red-wrapped disks were some of the first to awaken our taste buds to the tantalizing crossroad of sugar and spice. For some of us, these disks remind us of Christmas waiting for Mom at the hair salon, while still others remember plucking these from a bin at Dad’s office.
If there’s one thing that rivaled candy as a kid, it was soda. Combining the two was shear genius. Many of us remember pocketing handfuls of these after a visit to the bank, or even on a tour of the local firehouse on a field trip.
These hard candies were one of those treats that could be counted on to give you the “best bang for your buck,” since even if you only had a few, they seemed to last forever. With strong flavors that bordered delightfully on the edge of sour, these candies take us back to camp or to our favorite diners, where servers would sometimes drop one or two off with the check.
No matter what great memories these candies bring back to you, we know that the businesses that distribute them are the smart ones! In fact, studies have shown that 63% of customers who receive giveaway candy feel more appreciated by the business.