/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bostonglobe/RQCZ7DOWQJGVREYPER4SPGXB74.jpg)
After two years without Necco Wafers, one of the oldest candies in America is coming back to the country’s shelves.
Drugstores and retailers will stock the rolls of smooth, disc-shaped wafers this month. Its return comes in eight delectable flavors — lemon, lime, orange, clove, cinnamon, wintergreen, licorice, and chocolate — that match the originals. Only the cocoa flavor in the brown wafer has undergone “a minor improvement in the cooking process,” according to a press release. (All-chocolate rolls have been sold before, but are not currently being manufactured.)
The Necco factory in Revere abruptly shut down in July 2018 after its new owner, Round Hill Investments LLC, filed for bankruptcy. Spangler Candy Co., the longtime owner of Dum-Dums lollipops and Circus Peanuts, bought the Necco wafer brand and has been working on the candy’s relaunch for the last two years. They are now manufactured at a Mexican factory, per an NBC “Today” report, where COVID-19 safety measures are in place.
“Just when comfort food is experiencing a resurgence, Necco Wafers is back with that very kind of familiar, comfortable feeling we all seem to be craving,” said CEO Kirk Vashaw in a statement.
Advertisement
Additional shipments of Neccos will go out in July.
Necco, which is an acronym for New England Confectionary Company, have been around for a very long time. Durable and versatile, they’ve been a simple snack for soldiers in the Civil War and World War II. Adults have used them as poker chips, and young Catholic worshippers have turned to them to practice Communion. American explorers even hauled them in bulk to the Arctic.
And this taste of history is part of what Spangler is selling.
“Candy is a simple joy in life, and it’s a simple reward,” Vashaw told NBC. “People want the same thing they remember as a kid. That’s the beauty of candy — nostalgia.”
Advertisement
