Quirky Tales: A Butterfinger History (2024)

When you crave a mouthful of crunchy peanut butter wrapped in chocolate, nothing satisfies you like a Butterfinger candy bar. Just rip open the bright gold wrapper with its familiar blue lettering, and you are in for a treat. What you’ll get is peanut butter made from freshly roasted peanuts mixed with sugar candy that is kneaded, rolled, and cut before being covered in chocolate to balance the saltiness of the peanut butter, which makes for a great choice when you’re looking for bulk candy.

Quirky Tales: A Butterfinger History (1)

Quirky Tales: A Butterfinger History (2)

History Of Butterfingers

Butterfingers have been around for nearly 100 years. The popular candy was created in 1922 by Otto Schnering, who also developed the Baby Ruth. His Curtiss Candy Company, based in Chicago, ran a contest to name the bar. At the time sportscasters began using the term “butterfingers” to describe players who couldn’t hold onto the ball. A Chicago man who described himself as a klutz submitted the name “Butterfinger” for the bar and it was a winner. Early promotions for the candy included dropping Butterfingers and Baby Ruths from an airplane across the U.S.

Quirky Tales: A Butterfinger History (3)

Throughout its history, the recipe for the candy bar remained the same until the original for Butterfinger and Baby Ruth were lost when the company, now part of standard brands, was sold to Nabisco in 1981. Nabisco engineers came up with recipes that captured the original taste and crunch.

In 1990, Butterfinger became part of the Nestle family of brands until 20 confectionary brands including Butterfinger were sold to Italian chocolatier Ferrero SpA in March 2018.

Quirky Tales: A Butterfinger History (4)

Distinctive Taste, Crazy Promotions

If you love Butterfingers, you are in good company as sales of the crunchy bar top $600 million annually. It ranks as the 11th most popular candy in America. Sales have increased over time through amusing advertising that pulled in comedic spokespersons and used clever slogans that played on the name.

Spokespersons have included Bart Simpson, Top Cat, Seth Green, Erik Estrada, Rob Lowe, and Jaime Pressly. Whether real or cartoon characters, all promoted the candy in an over-the-top way.Bart Simpson considered it one of the four food groups:”sandwich, cow, jungle and Butterfinger.”

In 2012, when the Mayan calendar predicted that the world would end, Butterfinger launched its BARmageddon campaign,hat included a mysterious work QR code that appearedin a fieldin Manhattan, Kansas,solar flares, and stories of how Butterfingers were going missing from supermarket shelves – all signs of the end of days.

While the ads encouraged candy lovers to try Butterfinger, the taste keeps people coming back to buy itsfull-size bars,minis, and innovations such as peanut butter cups. Butterfingers are a popular component ofNestle Assorted Miniaturepacks that also include Baby Ruth, Nestle Crunch, and more.

Quirky Tales: A Butterfinger History (5)

There’s Only One Butterfinger

Other companies have tried to create candy with a taste similar to Butterfingers with offerings such as the Clark Bar, Zagnut, 5th Avenue, and Reese’s Crispy Crunchy Bar, but candy lovers prefer the original.

Check out ouronline candy storefor Butterfinger and other peanut buttery treats.

Check Out Our Other Related Posts to Butterfinger History:

Quirky Tales: A Butterfinger History (2024)

FAQs

Why are Butterfingers gross now? ›

The company began with Butterfinger and reworked the formula to use bigger peanuts, more milk and cocoa, and fewer hydrogenated oils. The new version also no longer incorporates the chemical preservative TBHQ.

Why were Butterfinger BB's discontinued? ›

However, Butterfinger did directly address the topic on social media, explaining that the stoppage of BB's had to do with profits. In reply to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the candy manufacturer stated, "Sadly, Butterfinger BB's were discontinued due to low sales."

What is the saying for Butterfinger? ›

In February 2010, Butterfinger revived its "Nobody better lay a finger..." slogan as "Nobody's gonna lay a finger on my Butterfinger." A comedy horror film entitled Butterfinger The 13th was made to promote the product in October 2011.

What happened to Baby Ruth's candy bars? ›

Curtiss was purchased by Nabisco in 1981. In 1990, RJR Nabisco sold the Curtiss brands to Nestlé. Ferrero acquired Nestlé USA's confectionery brands, including Baby Ruth, in 2018. Ferrero folded production of the acquired brands into the Ferrara Candy Company.

Why are butterfingers so unhealthy? ›

One regular Butterfinger contain 275 calories, 29 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of fat, six of which are saturated. The first ingredient is corn syrup, followed by sugar, peanuts, and hydrogenated palm oil.

What is the inside of a Butterfinger called? ›

The bright orange insides of a Butterfinger are truly unique in the candy bar world. The primary ingredient of the Butterfinger insides can be found in its name: fingers. No wait, reverse that. It's butter, specifically peanut butter. Now, you're probably wondering, “I've never had peanut butter that sweet and crunchy.

Do they not make Butterfinger eggs anymore? ›

"Butterfinger Nest Eggs were retired," stated a Butterfinger spokesperson on the social media site. The original poster's response perfectly summed up the profound loss people are experiencing for both Nest Eggs and BB's: "This is a tragedy." Read the original article on Daily Meal.

What is the difference between Chico stick and Butterfinger? ›

The Butterfinger is the more delicate of the two, with a more refined, buttery flavor. The Chick-O-Stick is denser and, especially as it ages, has a tendency to become stick-in-your-molars chewy after the first couple of chomps.

What is butterfingers slang for? ›

A butterfingers is someone with a clumsy tendency to drop things they're holding. Being a butterfingers is considered a particularly bad trait in baseball, for obvious reasons. The common use of this term by sportscasters in the 1920s inspired the name for the newly-invented candy known as Butterfinger.

What was the first song of the Butterfingers? ›

Butterfingers produced their first pair of demos in 1994, "Girl Friday"(Butterfingers first song) and When You're Addicted (later renamed to "Nicc o'Tynne"), which were first performed at the Cobra Club House, circa late 1994 and early 1995.

What is a word for butterfingers? ›

bungler clod dolt duffer fumbler klutz lummox schlep.

What's the oldest candy bar still around? ›

Launched in 1866—nineteen years after Fry's created the first moulded, solid chocolate eating bar (in 1847)— Fry's Chocolate Cream is the first mass-produced chocolate bar and is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand.

What is America's favorite candy bar? ›

Snickers is the top-selling candy bar in the United States and is produced by Mars, Inc. This classic chocolate bar is made with nougat, caramel, and peanuts, and it has been a favourite among Americans since its introduction in 1930.

What is the most popular candy in the world? ›

Best-selling Candy in the World
  • Snickers.
  • Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
  • Toblerone.
  • Kit Kat.
  • Dove.
  • Cadbury Dairy Milk.
  • Twix.
  • Milka.
Oct 22, 2020

What happened to Butterfinger? ›

That's right, the Butterfinger candy brand — which had been owned by Nestle since 1990 — was bought by Ferrero (the company behind Nutella) in January. The new parent company is making some big changes to the iconic bar and claims that the new formulation will include "higher quality ingredients."

What is a butterfingers condition? ›

Butterfingers is caused by stress, stress produces adrenaline, adrenaline creates physical agitation, if the physical agitation isn't fully expressed, it causes the hands to shake or creates tension in hand tendons that cause the hands to clench.

What did Bart Simpson say about Butterfinger? ›

Bart: Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger. (He takes a bite of his Butterfinger.)

Are Butterfingers bad for your teeth? ›

Taffy and caramel candies, these are hard on your teeth and can increase decay. Crunchy bars, such as Butterfinger bars that have hard centers. Hard candies, such as sour candies with high acid levels that can hurt your teeth and break down enamel.

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