The History of Baby Ruth

Otto Young Schnering started Curtiss Candy in 1916. Four years later, he invented Baby Ruth candy bars. Interestingly, they were based on one of his previous successes, Kandy Kake. Schnering marketed his Baby Ruth candy bars shrewdly, which helped them gain popularity quickly. He created themed merchandise, slashed the price to just 5 cents per bar, touted them as meal replacement/energy bars, and even organized a stunt in 1923 that had pilot Doug Davis dropping Baby Ruth bars and Butterfingers (which were also made by Curtiss Candy) from the sky! Then Schnering created the Baby Ruth Flying Circus, which dropped the candy bars from the sky in over 40 states (often during special events like fairs). In 1928, Baby Ruth became the number one candy bar in America. Despite the similar name, Baby Ruth bars were never officially associated with Babe Ruth the baseball player, although there was a lawsuit between the two parties over the name (the candy company won). Today, Baby Ruth bars are still quite popular and often show up in candy assortments intended for Halloween trick-or-treating.