I went to the Halloween section of my local grocery store and saw that bag again. The small candy corn with white, orange, and yellow stripes.

Honestly, I didn't understand why this candy comes out every year when I first tried it. It feels like chewing on a lump of sugar, yet it always occupies the front row of the display when the season arrives. The way it shines among the chocolates is oddly eye-catching.

So, ahead of this Halloween, I did some digging. It turns out this candy has lasted much longer than I expected.

The person typically credited with creating candy corn is George Renninger. He worked at the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia, and it's said that he started making buttercream dough shaped like corn kernels in the 1880s.

However, this part varies slightly across sources. There are claims that no one really knows who made it first. So, I'll just mention that this is how it's commonly understood.

According to records from Wikipedia, the Wunderle Company first produced it in 1888. That means it has been around for over 130 years now.

Then in 1898, a company called Goelitz got involved. This is the same company that eventually became Jelly Belly.

Interestingly, the name back then wasn't candy corn; it was sold as chicken feed, which means it was marketed as chicken food.

They even had a rooster illustration on the front of the box. At that time, rural life was much more familiar than it is now, so I imagine corn-shaped candy felt quite friendly.

The production process was completely different back then. Initially, everything was made by hand.

Workers, known as stringers, would step back and pour hot dough into corn-shaped molds. Since there are three colors, they had to repeat the same process three times.

According to an NPR report, the work was so labor-intensive that production only occurred from March to November. Imagining that scene feels a bit sad. It's surprising to realize how much human effort went into making a single piece of candy.

So when did it become a Halloween candy? Surprisingly, it wasn't from the start.

Candy corn became a staple for fall and Halloween around the 1950s, coinciding with the rise of the trick-or-treat culture.

With its imagery of corn, harvest, and orange, there probably wasn't a better seasonal product.

Now, machines produce the three colors. However, the basic recipe is said to be not much different from the old days.

A simple candy made from sugar and corn syrup has retained its shape and color even after moving to factory machines. It's impressive that a candy hasn't changed its design for over a hundred years.

And this candy sells surprisingly well. The industry leader, Brach's, claims to produce about 30 million pounds of candy corn each fall season.

According to the company, if you lined that amount up, it would circle the Earth about five times. I couldn't help but laugh at that number. Who is buying all this candy, even though everyone claims to dislike it?

However, the popularity polls tell a different story. In 2025, a company surveyed 1,736 Americans, and candy corn was the only candy to score a net favorability of minus 56.

It was ranked as the most disliked Halloween candy in 17 states. At this point, it's not an exaggeration to call it the ultimate love-it-or-hate-it candy.

That said, not everyone hates it. A survey released by the National Confectioners Association in 2020 found that 58 percent of Generation X enjoys candy corn.

For Baby Boomers, it was 56 percent, Millennials 46 percent, and Generation Z 49 percent. The generational differences are quite noticeable, right? It seems that the generations who have eaten it every Halloween since childhood have a stronger attachment to it.

People also eat it in different ways. According to a 2021 association survey, 52 percent eat it whole, while 31 percent start from the narrow white tip.

The association even designated October 30, the day before Halloween, as National Candy Corn Day. Isn't it cute that there's a holiday for something so disliked?

In my view, this is the secret to its endurance for over 100 years. Whether loved or hated, people talk about this candy every fall.

If it had competed solely on taste, it might have disappeared long ago. Instead, candy corn has become the very essence of the season.

When the orange bags appear in stores, it's a reminder that fall has arrived. It's become a kind of seasonal ritual, much like going to the mountains to see the fall foliage. Whether you like it or not, the moment you see that bag, your body instinctively recognizes that the season has changed.

I still don't think I can eat an entire bag by myself. But this year, I plan to buy a few pieces and slowly enjoy them starting from the white tip.

What about you? Are you someone who eats it whole, or do you avoid it altogether?