Candy corn was invented in the 1880's by an unknown party but the Wunderle Candy Company of Philadelphia was the first to go into commercial production of the treat. However, the company which is most associated with it is the Goelitz Confectionary Company who began commercial production of candy corn in 1898 in Cincinnati and is today the oldest manufacturer of the Halloween icon.

Making candy back then wasn't the highly mechanized year round job it is today. They manufactured it seasonally from March through November, and it was all man made. The tricolor design was revolutionary for its time, this tedious task was accomplished by men called stringers who would walk backward pouring the steaming candy mixture into trays of corn starch imprinted with kernal shaped molds. Three passes were made, one for each color.

Though these days, computers and machines aid most of the production, candy corn has remained virtually unchanged for well over 100 years. In 2001, according to the National Confectioners Association, manufacturers sold more than 20 million pounds of candy corn.

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