One of the most popular candies you might find in your trick-or-treat bag has a local origin.
Airheads, the flat taffy chew that’s a huge hit with kids, was developed in 1985 by Steve Bruner, a marketing director for the U.S. operation of the Dutch-based Van Melle Inc. (now Perfetti Van Melle) in Erlanger, Kentucky.
According to Bruner’s account at CandyFavorites.com, the company was trying out a fruit chew candy, but focus groups didn’t like the rice paper wrapping. The problem was that the blob of candy was really sticky. They instead encased it in a Mylar wrapping.
Now Bruner needed a name. The company asked local kids about the proposed name, Dr. Spock.
“The kids thought that was stupid,” Marius Van Melle, president of the U.S. subsidiary, told
The Enquirer in 1991. “So we asked the kids what kind of names they called each other, and they said ‘weirdo’ and ‘airheads.’”
In Bruner’s account, he said he asked his sons what they called a friend who did something silly. They mentioned several names, but he was intrigued by “airheads.”
Bruner then drew a balloon face doodle and the 10-cent fruit candy was born. Airheads quickly became one of the top-selling non-chocolate confections.
The candy originally came in a red wrapper that didn’t say whether it was cherry or strawberry flavored.
“We wanted the consumer to decide if they liked the red flavor,” Bruner wrote. “I had learned years earlier that the East Coast preferred strawberry and the center of the country wanted cherry. I agree there is a difference. However, kids see red and grab it.”
Airheads now come in multiple flavors: cherry, blue raspberry, watermelon, strawberry, orange, green apple, grape and a Halloween-appropriate White Mystery flavor.
Spoiler alert: If you're still wondering what flavor the White Mystery is supposed to be, the secret is out.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Airheads candy is probably called 'Dr. Spock' in an alternate reality
