Bun Bars

Bun Bars are a line of American confectionery products manufactured by Pearson's Candy Company, a candy maker based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Although the name suggests a conventional rectangular bar, the product is characteristically round and flat. Its construction combines a flavored crème or caramel center with milk chocolate, unsalted peanuts, and a roasted peanut-chocolate topping. The brand is sold in the United States and is associated with maple, vanilla, and sea salt caramel varieties. The product's roots reach back to the 1920s, when the Wayne Bun Candy Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, developed the forerunners of the modern candy. The first product to carry the Bun name was the Vanilla Cream Bun, introduced in 1947. During the second half of the twentieth century, Wayne Candies and the Bun line moved through several corporate owners. Leaf Confectionery, a subsidiary of W. R. Grace, sold Wayne Candies in 1973 to the Curtiss Candy Company, which was owned by Standard Brands. Under Curtiss, the caramel version was repackaged in 1978 as the Reggie! Bar, a sports-marketing variant named for baseball player Reggie Jackson. The ownership changes continued after Standard Brands merged with Nabisco in 1981. Wayne Candies was briefly shut down and subsequently sold to German confectioner August Storck KG. In 1992, the business moved to Pittsburgh Food & Beverage Company. During that period, D. L. Clark Company, a sister company within the Pittsburgh Food & Beverage group, marketed a sports-themed caramel product called the Mario Bun, named for hockey player Mario Lemieux. Clark also produced a separate Reggie! Bar using a peanut-butter filling. Wayne Candies later entered bankruptcy following the fraud-related collapse of Pittsburgh Food & Beverage in 1995. The Fort Wayne facility that produced Bun Bars closed permanently. The assets of Wayne Candies and Clark were purchased by the newly established Clark Bar America, and Bun Bar production was transferred to Clark's facility in suburban Pittsburgh. Pearson's Candy Company acquired the brand in 1998. The acquisition reflected manufacturing similarities between Bun Bars and Pearson's Nut Goodie, although the two products retained different recipes and ingredients. When Pearson's acquired the brand, the principal flavors were maple and vanilla. Caramel was added later, and in 2015 the caramel variety was reformulated and renamed or repositioned as sea salt caramel. The current line is therefore defined by three documented center flavors: maple, vanilla, and sea salt caramel. Bun Bars occupy a traditional, regional U.S. candy position, emphasizing a distinctive nut-and-chocolate format and continuity through multiple changes in ownership and manufacturing location.

Bun Bars trace their origins to the Wayne Bun Candy Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company's early products, developed in the 1920s, established the basic concept that later became the Bun line. The first product explicitly using the Bun name was the Vanilla Cream Bun, introduced in 1947. The brand's later history was shaped by a succession of corporate transactions. In 1973, Leaf Confectionery, then a subsidiary of W. R. Grace, sold Wayne Candies to the Curtiss Candy Company, part of Standard Brands. Curtiss used the Bun platform for product extensions and sports-related marketing. In 1978, it repackaged the caramel Bun as the Reggie! Bar, naming it after baseball player Reggie Jackson. Standard Brands merged with Nabisco in 1981. Wayne Candies was briefly shut down during the resulting corporate changes before being sold to August Storck KG. In 1992, the company was acquired by Pittsburgh Food & Beverage Company. Its sister company, D. L. Clark Company, marketed the Mario Bun, a caramel-centered product associated with hockey player Mario Lemieux. Clark also made a peanut-butter-filled Reggie! Bar. The Pittsburgh Food & Beverage structure collapsed in 1995 in a fraud-related bankruptcy. Wayne Candies' Fort Wayne manufacturing plant closed permanently. Clark Bar America, a newly formed company, acquired the assets of Wayne Candies and Clark, after which Bun Bar production moved to Clark's suburban-Pittsburgh plant. Pearson's Candy Company purchased the brand in 1998. Pearson's reportedly saw manufacturing affinities between Bun Bars and its Nut Goodie product, though the two candies remained distinct in formulation and ingredients. At the time of the Pearson's acquisition, the documented Bun Bar flavors were maple and vanilla. A caramel flavor was introduced later. In 2015, the caramel version was changed to sea salt caramel. The product format remained centered on a round, flat candy covered in milk chocolate and peanuts, rather than a conventional rectangular bar. The current documented range consists of maple, vanilla, and sea salt caramel centers, sold in the United States under Pearson's ownership.

• 2015

  Caramel reformulated as sea salt caramel

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  The caramel flavor was changed to sea salt caramel.

• 1998

  Pearson's acquired the brand

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  Pearson's Candy Company purchased Bun Bars and became their manufacturer.

• 1995

  Bankruptcy and factory closure

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  Wayne Candies went bankrupt after the fraud-related collapse of Pittsburgh Food & Beverage, and its Fort Wayne plant closed.

• 1992

  Pittsburgh Food & Beverage acquisition

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  Wayne Candies passed to Pittsburgh Food & Beverage Company.

• 1981

  Ownership changed after Standard Brands merged with Nabisco

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  Wayne Candies was briefly shut down and subsequently sold to August Storck KG.

• 1978

  Reggie! Bar version introduced

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  Curtiss repackaged the caramel Bun as the Reggie! Bar, named for Reggie Jackson.

• 1973

  Wayne Candies acquired by Curtiss

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  Leaf Confectionery sold Wayne Candies to Standard Brands' Curtiss Candy Company.

• 1947

  Vanilla Cream Bun introduced

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  The Vanilla Cream Bun became the first product documented as using the Bun name.

• 1920

  Early Bun candy developed

  [1]Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org

  The Wayne Bun Candy Company developed the forerunners of Bun Bars in Fort Wayne, Indiana, during the 1920s.

A traditional American candy brand built around a distinctive round, flat format combining flavored crème or caramel, milk chocolate, roasted peanuts, and a peanut-chocolate cluster. Its positioning is closely related to regional and heritage confectionery, with product similarities to Pearson's Nut Goodie but a separate recipe and identity.

• Chocolate candy

  Maple Bun Bar

  A round, flat Bun Bar containing maple-flavored crème, coated in milk chocolate and unsalted peanuts and topped with a roasted peanut-chocolate cluster. It is one of the two flavors documented when Pearson's acquired the brand in 1998.

• Chocolate candy · 1947

  Vanilla Bun Bar

  A round, flat candy with a vanilla-flavored crème center, milk-chocolate coating, unsalted peanuts, and a roasted peanut-chocolate topping. The Vanilla Cream Bun was the first documented product to use the Bun name, in 1947.

• Chocolate candy · 2015

  Sea Salt Caramel Bun Bar

  A Bun Bar built around a caramel center with milk chocolate and peanut components. Pearson's changed the earlier caramel variety to sea salt caramel in 2015.

• Historical chocolate candy variant

  Mario Bun

  A historical caramel-centered Bun-related product marketed by D. L. Clark Company under Pittsburgh Food & Beverage ownership. It was associated with hockey player Mario Lemieux.

• Historical chocolate candy variant · 1978

  Reggie! Bar

  A historical sports-themed product based on the caramel Bun and repackaged by Curtiss in 1978 under the name of baseball player Reggie Jackson. D. L. Clark later produced another product using the Reggie! Bar name with a peanut-butter filling.

• 1995

  Fraud-related collapse of Pittsburgh Food & Beverage

  Pittsburgh Food & Beverage collapsed in a fraud-related bankruptcy. Wayne Candies subsequently went bankrupt, and the Fort Wayne facility that produced Bun Bars permanently closed.

  Source

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• 2015

  Caramel variety changed to sea salt caramelGeneration change

  Background

  Pearson's had expanded the historical maple-and-vanilla range with a caramel variety.

  Action taken

  The caramel flavor was changed to sea salt caramel.

  Aftermath

  Sea salt caramel became the documented caramel-style flavor in the Bun Bar lineup.

  Source

• 1998

  Pearson's acquisition of Bun BarsM&A

  Background

  After Wayne Candies' bankruptcy and the transfer of production to Clark Bar America's facility, the Bun Bars assets became available for acquisition.

  Action taken

  Pearson's Candy Company purchased the Bun Bars brand, partly because its production had similarities to Pearson's Nut Goodie.

  Aftermath

  Bun Bars became part of Pearson's U.S. confectionery portfolio while retaining recipe differences from Nut Goodie.

  Source

• 1978

  Repackage caramel Bun as Reggie! BarProduct launch

  Background

  Curtiss Candy Company controlled Wayne Candies and used a sports association to give the caramel Bun a separate identity.

  Action taken

  The caramel Bun was repackaged and marketed as the Reggie! Bar, named for baseball player Reggie Jackson.

  Aftermath

  The Bun format was used as the basis for a named sports-themed confectionery variant.

  Source

1. 1Bun Barsen.wikipedia.org