Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1912
Life Savers candy
Clarence Crane made ring-shaped mints in 1912, using pharmacy pill-making machinery, as a summer-proof candy; in 1913 he sold the formula to Edward Noble of Gouverneur, N.Y. and J. Roy Allen for $2,900.
At a glance
- Year
- 1912
- Company
- Crane Candy Company
- Place
- Cleveland (Crane's candy company; Crane was from Garrettsville), Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
The story
Candy makers of the early 1900s had a summer problem. Chocolate sold poorly in warm months because air conditioning was rare and chocolate melted. Clarence Crane, who had switched from maple sugar to chocolate, needed a candy that would hold up in the heat.
In 1912 Crane borrowed an idea from pharmacies. He adapted a machine that pressed small round pills and changed it to punch a hole in the middle. The ring-shaped mint looked like a life preserver, which gave it its name.
Crane did not stay with it. In 1913 he sold the formula to Edward Noble of Gouverneur, New York, and his partner J. Roy Allen for $2,900. Noble added tinfoil wrappers to keep the candy from going stale, in place of the cardboard rolls that had let it spoil, and had the five-cent candy displayed at store cash registers.
The company built its main plant in Port Chester, New York, a local landmark decorated with Life Savers imagery. Production later moved to Holland, Michigan, and in 2002 to Montreal. The Ohio part is Crane's work: Wikipedia calls him a candy maker from Garrettsville, Ohio, and Mental Floss places his invention in Cleveland, where his candy company was based.
Timeline
- 1912: Clarence Crane makes the first ring-shaped mints as a summer-proof candy. (Ohio) source
- 1913: Crane sells the formula to Edward Noble and J. Roy Allen for $2,900. (Gouverneur, NY) source
- 1913: Noble introduces tinfoil wrappers and cash-register displays. (New York) source
- 2002: Production moves from Holland, Michigan to Montreal, Quebec. (Montreal, QC) source
What it changed
- Crane sold the rights for $2,900.
- Tinfoil wrapping kept the mints fresh, and cash-register display sold them at five cents.
Why it matters
Became a global brand.
Worth knowing
Clarence Crane was from Garrettsville in Portage County, and his candy company was in Cleveland. Accounts differ on where he made the first mints.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
