Milky Way is a brand of chocolate candy made by Mars, Incorporated which consists of Nougat and Caramel.
History
The Milky Way bar is made of nougat, topped with caramel and covered with milk chocolate. It was created in 1923 by Frank C. Mars and originally manufactured in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The name and taste derived from a then-popular malted milk drink (milkshake) of the day, not after the astronomical galaxy.
On March 10, 1925, the Milky Way trademark was registered in the U.S., claiming a first-use date of 1922. In 1924, the Milky Way bar was introduced nationally, with sales totaling $800,000 that year. The chocolate for the chocolate coating was supplied by Hershey's.
By 1926, two variants were available: chocolate nougat with milk chocolate coating, and vanilla nougat with a dark chocolate coating, each selling for 5¢. In June 1932, the bar was marketed as a two-piece bar, and four years later, in 1936, the chocolate and vanilla were separated. The vanilla version with a dark chocolate coating was called "Forever Yours" and was marketed under this name until 1979, then Milky Way Dark was reintroduced in 1989. Later "Milky Way Dark" was renamed "Milky Way Midnight".
In 1935, Mars used the marketing slogan "The sweet you can eat between meals," later using "At work, rest and play, you get three great tastes in a Milky Way." By 2006, Mars used the slogan "Comfort in every bar" in the U.S. and most recently "Life's better the Milky Way."
In 2010, the Milky Way Simply Caramel bar went on sale, a version with caramel covered in milk chocolate and without nougat. In 2011, Mars introduced a small size (marketed as fun size) Simply Caramel bar. A salted caramel version has since been introduced. Milky Way Simply Caramel was discontinued in the summer of 2023.
In 2012, Milky Way Caramel Apple Minis went on sale as a limited offer for the Halloween season.
In late summer of 2018, Milky Way Fudge, which substitutes chocolate fudge nougat for malt nougat, was introduced nationwide.
The American Milky Way bar has 240 calories in each 52.2 gram bar; the Milky Way Midnight has 220 calories in each 50 gram bar; and the Milky Way Simply Caramel bar has 250 calories in each 54 gram bar.
In 2024, Mars and Jel Sert collaborated to market Milky Way-flavored pudding and pie mix.
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External Links
Milky Way Official Website
Milky Way Wikipedia Page