Customer Outrage Forces Necco To Put Artificial Ingredients Back Into Wafers

[salvorhardin]

"When the people who make Necco Wafers changed their recipe to use natural flavors and colors in 2009, they thought they were doing their customers a favor. But then those customers told the New England Confectionery Company — loudly, and repeatedly — that they preferred artificially enhanced candy."

Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/10/26/141732915/customer-outrage-forces-necco-to-put-artificial-ingredients-back-into-wafers

After all, if you're going to eat chalk, you might as well eat artificially flavor-enhanced chalk.

[elleng]

1. 'Naturally!'

:sarcasm:

Never could stand those things!

[canoeist52]

2. What exactly are "natural flavors"?

I can't find a definition on-line. Seems it's a protected proprietary trade secret.

[LoveIsNow]

11. From an article about McDonalds' Fries I read a while ago

I extracted the definition that natural flavors are extracted from a plant or animal, while artificial flavors are synthesized. Neither are actually particularly natural. The relevance, btw, was that for many years McD's did not disclose that their fries were sprayed with extracted beef flavor, simply listing natural flavor in the ingredients.

[Name removed]

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[Dover]

3. And lots of people who grew up on canned food prefer it to fresh...n/t

[PoliticAverse]

4. "After sales dropped by around 35 percent" - the customer wins again, maybe.

They're not the first company that found the switch to natural didn't product the hoped-for result
nor will they likely be the last.

[OnTheOtherHand]

5. an edifying story

As if we needed any proof of the candy's old-school gravitas, consider this statement, from Necco's website:

The U.S. Government requisitioned a major portion of the production of NECCO Wafers during World War II. The candy doesn't melt and is practically indestructible during transit, making it perfect for shipping overseas to the troops.

If I were reaching for something nice to say about NECCO Wafers, "practically indestructible" would be a good choice. But some people really like them, I guess.

[salvorhardin]

18. Yeah, it's rather amazing to think they still sell.

Back when I was a little kid trick or treating, my friends and I would have swore that the NECCO Wafers some of the older people handed out actually dated to WWII -- and who knew where Sweetarts originated?

[Sal Minella]

6. They've been around since the Civil War.

You'd think the manufacturers would realize they don't need much "improvement."

[louis-t]

14. Wow, they DO last a long time!

:silly:

[razorman]

7. "Screw real cheese. I want my cheese from a spray can." - Drew Carey

[Cirque du So-What]

8. Never was a fan of Necco Wafers

As a kid, I preferred practically any candy over Necco Wafers. After I entered adolescence, however, I found that they make decent poker chips...until they absorbed so much dirt that they were all the same color, that is.

[PoliticAverse]

16. Circus Peanuts or Chalk Wafers, you decide... n/t

[TwilightGardener]

19. Circus peanuts, candy corn, black licorice, Mary Janes... the Halloween booty that

stays at the bottom of the pillowcase.

[Ikonoklast]

9. My favorite Necco Wafer flavor is "Chokey".

"Gag" is pretty good, too; I'll enjoy a "Phlegm" once in a while.


The other flavors really suck, though.

[TygrBright]

10. They were never a patch on Stark wafers. I miss Stark... n/t

[Warpy]

12. I used to love walking by that factory in Cambridge

especially on Necco Wafer day. The whole world smelled like Necco Wafers.

Besides, what other candy sparkles when you crack it in half in a dark room?

(well, it's only one of the flavors, but it's still fun)

[Codeine]

15. WintOGreen Lifesavers do that too.

I used to like to go in the bathroom and turn off the lights and munch 'em as a kid. Sparks! In your mouth! :D Coolest thing on Earth when you're seven.

[Raine]

17. I used to love them until I realized they had gelatin in them

being a vegetarian for me gelatin is :puke: