PHILADELPHIA -- The year 1912 was a significant year for the snack and candy industry. Oreos, Life Savers and Goo Goo Clusters are among the iconic brands born in 1912. The Girl Scouts was founded that year, settling the stage for the famous cookies. And the Whitman Sampler made its debut.
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Whitman's Candies Inc. is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Whitman's Sampler with the "Kiss Me, I'm 100 Giveaway." Whitman's is sending a Jumbo Sampler and a Kiss Me, I'm 100 hat to anyone born in 1912.
From California to the New York Island, emails and letters have been pouring in from daughters, sons, granddaughters and friends to request this special gift for their Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, friend or neighbor.
The company estimates that more than one billion Whitman's Samplers have been sold since its introduction in 1912 and today, a Sampler is sold every 2.5 seconds, it said.
Celebrating its 170th anniversary in 2012, Whitman's Candies is America's oldest continuous producer of boxed chocolates. Whitman's began in 1842 when 19-year-old Stephen F. Whitman set up a small confectionery and fruit shop on the Philadelphia waterfront. The Whitman's Sampler is among many boxed chocolate masterpieces produced by Whitman's over the years. Today, Whitman's chocolates and confections are manufactured at factories located in Abilene, Kansas, Iola, Kansas, Montrose, Colo., and Corsicana, Texas.
It also owns the Russell Stover and Pangburn's candy brands, as well as licenses the Weight Watchers by Whitman's brand.
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