.png)
.webp)
Long before the history of Pop Rocks captivated the taste buds of millions, major food companies were racing to create innovative versions of everyday products.
In this environment, an accidental discovery that would change the candy industry forever.
The origins of Pop Rocks can be traced to 1956 when General Foods chemist William A. Mitchell was trying to create an instant soda pop mix.
Instead, he accidentally created a kind of candy that popped into your mouth.
The unique popping sensation was achieved because CO2 bubbles were trapped in the candy during production but then would dissolve in moisture (like saliva), making the bubbles burst.
It would be almost two decades before Pop Rocks was officially released to the public, due to skepticism from the c-level suite.
General Foods patented Pop Rocks in 1961.
Pop Rocks finally hit its debut when it launched in 1975 in its first test market of Windsor, Ontario.
It quickly sold out.
The market response was epic, with the candy being sold on the black market.
Pop Rocks was introduced in the US in 1976 and was nationwide a year later.
It became a US sensation, just like it had in Canada.
The popping candy sold over 500 million packets in its first year alone!
Outselling other legacy candy brands by significant margins.
The success of Pop Rocks would not last.
A conspiracy theory about a boy named Mikey would drive the brand’s sales to the ground.
The story goes that Mikey, a boy famous for being featured in Life cereal commercials, died after eating a mixture of Pop Rocks and soda.
His stomach exploded.
The story was a hoax, but it spread like wildfire in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
General Foods tried to combat the hoax.
They took significant measures, including full-page newspaper ads, letters to school principals, and public appearances by Mikey to reassure parents about the candy’s safety.
They couldn’t calm the fears of parents and teachers.
The FDA even had to get involved by establishing a hotline dedicated to parents’ fears.
Due to declining sales fueled by false rumors of exploding stomachs, Pop Rocks was discontinued in 1983.
General Foods just couldn’t dispel the rumors, and they were doing more harm than good to the parent company.
Pop Rocks eventually relaunched in the 2000s after being licensed to Zeta Espacial S.A., a Spanish company.
Today Pop Rocks continue to be produced and marketed by Zeta globally, but they have never hit their former popularity.
Other popping candy brands like Space Dust and Fizz Wizz have emerged globally, showing that there is still widespread appeal to the pop in your mouth sensation.
.png){kind=logo}
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)