Mounds (candy bar)
{{Short description|Candy bar by Hershey}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2007}}
{{infobox brand
| name = Mounds
| logo = Mounds brand logo.png
| logo_size = 200
| image = Candy-Mounds-Broken.jpg
| image_size = 200
| alt = A Mounds candy bar broken in half.
| caption = A candy bar with shredded coconut covered in dark chocolate.
| type = Coconut candy bar
| currentowner = The Hershey Company
| origin = United States
| introduced = {{Start date and age|1920}}
| producedby = The Hershey Company
| discontinued =
| related = Almond Joy
| markets = United States
| previousowners = {{plainlist|
}}
| trademarkregistrations =
| ambassador =
| tagline = Indescribably Delicious.
Unwrap Paradise.
| website = {{URL|https://www.hersheyland.com/mounds|hersheyland.com/mounds}}
}}
Mounds is a candy bar made by the Hershey Company, consisting of shredded, sweetened coconut coated in dark chocolate. The company also produces the Almond Joy, a similar bar topped by whole almonds and covered in milk chocolate. The two products share common packaging and logo design, with Mounds using a red color scheme and Almond Joy blue.
History
Originally invented by candy maker Vincent Nitido of West Haven, Connecticut, Mounds was created in 1920 as a single piece for 5 cents.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/West-Have-honors-late-Mounds-candy-bar-creator-15169154.php|title=West Haven honors late Mounds candy bar creator|date=Apr 1, 2020|website=New Haven Register}} In 1929, the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company purchased the line and began production. The format changed to two pieces that still sold for 5 cents, with the price rising to 10 cents after World War II.{{cite web |website=WASAW |title=A Few Questions about Almond Joy, Mounds & Peter Paul |author=Lisa Flaherty |url=http://snackanooga.com/peterpaul.html |access-date=March 23, 2018}} Mounds was made in milk chocolate as well.
During World War II, Peter Paul was faced with severe shortages of sugar and coconut, which had been shipped from the Philippines before war broke out. The company instead began sourcing coconut from the Caribbean using its own fleet of small vessels for transportation of coconut supplies to the United States. Nicknamed the "Flea Fleet", these seven ships were small enough to avoid detailed scrutiny by German naval vessels operating in the Caribbean and yet carried sufficient supply of coconut to keep Peter Paul in operation during the war.{{Cite web |url=https://www.mycitizensnews.com/news/historical-society-looking-for-stolen-replica/ |title=Historical society looking for stolen replica |date=January 10, 2014}} Rather than sacrifice quality, the company discontinued some of its lesser selling brands and concentrated production on the Mounds candy bar. Over the years, Peter Paul added several products to its line, including the Almond Joy candy bar (1946) and York Peppermint Patties (1940).
Cadbury and Peter Paul merged in 1978, and Hershey Foods purchased the company's U.S. operations in 1988.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/america-s-10-favorite-chocolate-candies |title=America's 10 Favorite Chocolate Candies |date=2015-04-21 |work=The Daily Meal |access-date=2018-07-07 }}{{Cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/cadbury-chocolate-different-in-us-vs-uk-evidence-2018-5 |title=We compared the UK's favorite chocolate to the version that's sold in the US — and we were surprised by what we found |work=Business Insider |access-date=2018-07-07}}
Mounds, Almond Joy, and other Peter Paul confections were manufactured in Naugatuck, Connecticut, from the early 1920s until 2007. In 1950, Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company built a larger plant in Naugatuck to produce its confections.{{Cite web |url=https://patch.com/connecticut/naugatuck/a-place-in-naugatuck-history-mounds-almond-joy-and-pe4467a1c313 |title=A Place in Naugatuck History: Peter Paul's Legend |date=Sep 16, 2011 |website=Naugatuck, CT Patch}} Following its acquisition of Mounds and Almond Joy in 1988, The Hershey Company continued to manufacture Mounds and Almond Joy at the Peter Paul plant, before moving the manufacturing operation to a more modern plant in Stuarts Draft, Virginia, in 2007. At the time of the move, the 250,000 square foot Naugatuck plant was operating at 40% capacity.{{Cite web |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2007-04-26-0704260659-story.html |title=A NOT-SO-SWEET ENDING IN NAUGATUCK |first=JANICE |last=PODSADA |website=Hartford Courant|date=26 April 2007 }}
A limited-edition Mounds Island Orange candy bar was introduced in 2006 with orange-colored and orange-flavored coconut but did not last long.{{Cite web |url=http://www.candyblog.net/blog/item/mounds_island_orange/ |title=Mounds Island Orange |website=Candy Blog}}
Advertising
Mounds' original slogan, "Indescribably Delicious", was created when Mounds ran a contest to come up with the best two words to sell the candy. Leon Weiss, who came up with the slogan, won $10.{{Cite web|url=https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/indescribably_delicious|title=Barry Popik|first=Barry|last=Popik|website=www.barrypopik.com}} Peter Paul, Inc. filed a trademark application for the phrase on February 20, 1964, claiming a date of first use on June 15, 1956. The trademark registration date was August 3, 1965.{{Cite web|url=https://uspto.report/TM/72187143|title=INDESCRIBABLY DELICIOUS - Peter Paul, Inc. Trademark Registration|website=USPTO.report}} Mounds continues to use the slogan in advertising and on the wrapper.
Mounds uses a packaging and logo design similar to its sister product, with Almond Joy's blue replaced by red, and the two candies are often advertised together. The candy's 1970s ad campaign used a jingle, "Sometimes you feel like a nut / sometimes you don't / Almond Joy's got nuts / Mounds don't", written by Joey Levine.{{cite web|url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/singing-opportunities-commercial-industry-23474/|title=Singing Opportunities in the Commercial Industry|website=Backstage|date=December 14, 2001|access-date=May 20, 2023|last=Wood|first=Mark Dundas}}{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VuECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA48|title=The Great Rock & Roll Jingle|magazine=New York|volume=29|issue=49|date=December 16, 1996|access-date=May 20, 2023|last=Norris|first=Chris|pages=48–52}}
Similar products
The Bounty bar is a similar product manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. On his 2001 One Foot in the Gravy album, John Shuttleworth extols the cardboard tray in the Mounds bar, which is absent in the Bounty.{{cite web |last1=Shuttleworth |first1=John |title=Mounds Bar Song |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6BiyhTv_Ls |website=YouTube |date=2 October 2022 |access-date=5 November 2023 |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}