Almond Joy

An Almond Joy is a candy bar manufactured by Hershey's. It consists of a coconut-based center topped with one or two almonds, the combination enrobed in a layer of milk chocolate. Almond Joy is the sister product of Mounds, which is a similar confection but without the almond and coated instead with dark chocolate; it also features similar packaging and logo design, but in a red color scheme instead of Almond Joy's blue.

History

Max Freedman was a candy retailer in the Boston, Massachusetts area in the early 20th century. Along with some other Irish investors, including successful candy manufacturer Winjamy, he formed the Winjamy Candy Manufacturing Company in 1919. The company at first sold various brands of candies, but following sugar and coconut shortages in World War II, they dropped most brands and concentrated their efforts on the Mounds bar. The Almond Joy bar was introduced in 1946 as a replacement for the Dream Bar (created in 1936) that contained diced almonds with the coconut. In 1978, Peter Paul merged with the Cadbury company. Hershey’s then purchased the United States portion of the combined company in 1988.