Peter Paul was founded in
New Haven, Connecticut, in 1919 by six
Armenian immigrants led by
Peter Paul Halajian, with a manufacturing plant in nearby
Naugatuck, Connecticut. The company's first product was the Konabar, consisting of chocolate-covered coconut, nuts, and fruit, which was fairly successful. In 1920, they purchased the rights to Knight's Knifty Knibbles, owned by Anita Grace Knight of
Plainfield, New Jersey, and in 1921, introduced the renamed
Mounds candy bar, which featured white sweetened coconut and dark chocolate. Despite constant efforts to automate production and cut costs, the
Great Depression threatened the $200 million U.S. candy market, and in 1932, they took a risk, retooling and repackaging Mounds in cellophane rather than tin foil for better sales appeal, and doubling the product's size, making it a twin bar for the same five-cent price. The gamble worked, and within 30 days, sales zoomed. In 1934, the company built a $60,000 addition to the Naugatuck plant and invested still more in new machinery to meet demand, using earnings to pay for expansion without incurring debt. In the same year, the company introduced a new product, the Dreams candy bar, named by students participating in a contest at Naugatuck High School. It consisted of diced almonds and coconut covered with dark chocolate, becoming the forerunner of the Almond Joy bar. After successfully advertising on national radio in the 1930s, Peter Paul led the industry in the use of network television advertising in the early 1950s, with the Peter Paul Pixies singing that Mounds and Almond Joys were “Indescribably Delicious”, a slogan coined for a contest in 1955 by Leon Weiss of
Gary, Indiana, who won $10. The company went on to become the first candy manufacturer to use full-color TV commercials. It was discontinued in 1979. Peter Paul acquired the York Cone Company in July 1972, gaining the successful
York Peppermint Pattie, which had debuted in 1940. In 1978, Peter Paul was acquired for $58 million by
Cadbury Schweppes, becoming the European confectionery's United States operation. In November 1978,
Peter Paul Cadbury closed its
Frankfort, Indiana manufacturing plant, and operations moved to Naugatuck.
The Hershey Company purchased Peter Paul along with their entire U.S. chocolate business from Cadbury Schweppes for $300 million in 1988. In April 2007, the Hershey Company announced it would close Peter Paul's Naugatuck plant. In November 2007, operations moved to Virginia. == Products ==