Twizzlers
Twizzlers is a brand of candy in the United States and Canada. Twizzlers is the product of Y&S Candies, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, now a subsidiary of The Hershey Company.
History
The manufacturers of Cherry Twizzlers candy is one of the oldest confectionery firms in the United States. The company was established in 1845 as Young and Smylie, and adopted Y&S as its trademark in 1870. National Licorice Company was created in 1902 through the merger of three small firms: Young & Smylie, S.V. & F.P. Schudder and H.W. Petherbridge. In 1908 a plant was opened in Montreal and in 1929 the Twizzler brand was established. The company changed its name to Y&S Candies Inc. in 1968 and was acquired by Hershey Foods in 1977.
Since 1999, Twizzlers have also been manufactured in Memphis, Tennessee, as well as the main Lancaster location, in a Y&S plant that also makes chewing gum and other candies. From 1970 through 1999, it was manufactured at a plant in Farmington, New Mexico, but relocated the operation to Memphis because of rising transportation costs. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest licorice twist ever made measured 1,200 feet (370 m) and 100 pounds (45 kg) and was made at the Y&S Candy Plant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This record-breaking twist became a Guinness World Record, on July 19, 1998.
