#candy day

Behind the scenes, of course, hidden in the pages of trade journals like Candy and Ice Cream, Association members were a little less noble-minded, telling their readers in the industry that “It's simply asking you if you want to make some extra money, and if you do, you are requested to go ahead and push this "Candy Day" idea”. While the marketing ploy had some initial success, it was short lived, as sugar rationing during World War I made the corporate holiday unsustainable. A second attempt after the war, however, launched in 1921 under the rebranded name of “Sweetest Day”, this time cloaked in twice the syrupy layers of sentimentality (and a bogus origin myth that some publishers repeat to this day), also failed to stick in the molars of popular culture. Except, that is, for some communities around the Great Lakes. Fowler’s Chocolates in Buffalo, New York has continued the tradition of Sweetest Day celebrations, as has the Sanders Candy Company in Detroit and confectioners in Cleveland. For these Midwestern sugar-fiends, Hallmark also has a line of Sweetest Day cards, launched in 2006.