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In 1845, brothers John and Adam Young partnered with William Smylie to open a candy shop on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, New York.
Their modest storefront specialized in crafting licorice candies, establishing the foundation for what would eventually become the Twizzlers brand.
Starting with simple licorice-based recipes and local distribution, Young & Smylie company would soon become a powerhouse in all things licorice.
In 1902, three New York licorice manufacturers joined forces:
Together, they created the National Licorice Company.
Each firm sacrificed individual autonomy for collective strength.
The National Licorice Company developed its signature twisted licorice candy, Twizzlers, in 1929.
Timing of launch might not have been perfect, as it coincided with the onset of the Great Depression, with the stock market crashing that October.
The original Twizzlers maintained the black licorice flavor that was traditional to Y&S products.
Y&S Candies manufactured Nibs as a bite-sized companion product for their Twizzlers licorice line.
The exact introduction date of Nibs remains unverified—while Y&S began producing Twizzlers in the 1930s, no conclusive evidence establishes when Nibs entered their product lineup.
What we know about Nibs comes from candy package collectors, who have verified specific package designs from the 1960s and 1970s.
The National Licorice Company renamed itself Y&S Candies Inc. in 1968.
The letters "Y&S" are derived from Young and Smylie, two original company founders.
This name change shifted the company's singular focus on licorice production toward broader candy categories.
In the 1970s, Twizzlers underwent a rebrand of sorts.
The brand, which had built its foundation on traditional black licorice since 1929, started mixing things up with fruit flavors.
Its most successful strawberry-flavored Twizzlers proved transformative.
While traditional black licorice maintained steady sales, strawberry Twizzlers captured consumer preference so thoroughly that it came to represent 70% of the company's total production volume.
The company continued independent operations until 1977 when The Hershey Company purchased Y&S Candies Inc. and expanded the Twizzlers product line.
The acquisition added a distinct product line to Hershey's chocolate-dominated portfolio.
This strategic move gave Hershey direct control over Twizzlers production and distribution, expanding their reach into non-chocolate candies.
The purchase would set a pattern for future company growth through strategic buyouts.
In 1994, Hershey's candy division launched Twizzlers Pull 'n' Peel.
They were twisted ropes of strawberry licorice that separated into individual strands.
In 1998, factory workers at Hershey's Lancaster plant crafted a single, unbroken Twizzlers twist stretching 1,200 feet—longer than three football fields!
The red licorice rope weighed over 100 pounds!
Strawberry flavor anchors Twizzlers' production line, commanding the majority of manufacturing resources.
While the brand now offers various flavors, strawberry Twizzlers still represent the core of its market presence.
Today, the Lancaster facility's daily output of 200 tons translates to:
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