Sky Bar Candy Bar

If you’re familiar with the NECCO brands or any fan favorites from them that are long gone, then you might already be familiar with the Sky Bar. This tasty bar has a long history and they even went through a period of being discontinued. Now, it is the only NECCO product that you will find manufactured and distributed directly from Massachusetts in the United States. 

In this guide, we share everything you should know about Sky bar candy and all that it has to offer. Read more below! 

History

The Sky Bar was originally created by NECCO, or the New England Confectionery Company. It was a simple candy bar that was molded and unique at the time. It was one of the first chocolate bars to create flavored centers that were unique, and they had several different flavors. The bar was described as having filled chocolate blocks. 

There were other competitors that tried to come up against them, and even some with this unique concept before them. However, none of those really compared the Sky Bar Candy. The first candy bar of Sky Bar was introduced in 1938. And it really took off in popularity and availability in the 50s and 60s when vending machines started to become popular. 

You could find Sky Bars almost anywhere, including your family road trips. They hit advertising hard, and it paid off for them. It was one of the most popular candy bars of the era and a top choice for many. It was heavily popular on the East Coast of the United States but also preferred in other areas too. 

This candy bar held its reign for more than 80 years. Then, they discontinued it briefly in 2018. But that didn’t last. In just over a year, it came back to the market and Sky Bar candy fans can still find their bars today. 

Where NECCO has made a lot of changes through the years, they continue to manufacture the Sky Bar at their Massachusetts facility – and it’s the only candy bar created there by this brand today. 

One of the most unique things about Sky Bar Candy is that the blocks aren’t all the same flavor. Actually, each of the four blocks in a single candy bar have different flavors, so you really get a candy bar with four flavors in one. Those included caramel, vanilla, peanut, and fudge. They were all delicious. And every flavor block is covered in tasty milk chocolate. 

The candy bar was created by a candy maker who was working for NECCO. His name was Joseph Cangemi. When they brought the candy bar to market, they ran some attention-gathering advertising campaigns that really grabbed people’s attention and contributed to their popularity and success. These candy bars were just a nickel when they were introduced. 

The original flavors are not the same as the current flavors. While they’ve changed the core flavors within the Sky Bar candy bar a few times, they’ve never offered multiple varieties. We will talk a bit more about those flavors shortly. 

They started out hot with a skywriting advertising campaign that told people to keep their eye on the sky. The campaign incorporated a contest that had people complete the sentence. They advertised it in The Boston Globe and offered cash prizes to the winners. It was a fun way to present the candy bar to the world. 

Their advertising didn’t stop there. In 1945, they made a statement by being one of only six signs in Times Square that were illuminated. In 2009, Sky Bar offered a special candy bar that coordinated with the release of the movie New Moon. This had only three fillings in it and they were all unique, specialty fillings. 

Through the years, they scaled back on production and you had to know just where to look to find your bar. They were still around, but only in niche areas or through online retailers. 

In 2018, NECCO closed its doors and the Sky Bar Candy Bar was discontinued. In late 2019, a winning bid from Louise Mawhinney earned her the right to produce the bar. She continues to do so on the East Coast, in limited production. 

How Did Sky Bar Candy Get Its Name? 

The naming convention behind Sky Bar is rather unique and interesting. They didn’t choose the name because of a characteristic of the candy bar, or anything that really had to do with the candy bar itself. Instead, they went with a popular theme of the time – flying. 

This was in an era when flight and planes were becoming increasingly popular. It was a subject that caught the attention and it worked in their favor to use sky and flight themed, as well as sky advertising for their initial product kickoff. 

The excitement of flight topics paired with the excitement of a new and innovative candy bar quickly equaled success for the candy bar. The name Sky Bar simply comes from wanting a flight theme and taking to the sky for their initial advertising choices. 

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Flavors

While the Sky Bar Candy Bar has been made up of different flavors through the years, they have primarily only offered one candy bar at a time. The only exception is in 2009 when they had a specialty offering available. This candy bar has always been advertised as four candy bars in one. 

The original flavor included toffee, nougat, nut butter toffee, and fudge as the fillings that were inside of the milk chocolate. One candy bar had each of these fillings inside a chunk of the bar. In 1955, the flavors were described as English toffee, honey nougat, peanut whip, and fudge parfait. In 2001, there was a change to the original and the flavors became caramel, vanilla, peanut (nougat), and fudge fillings, all coated inside of milk chocolate.

These have remained the steadfast flavors since that day. The company did have a specialty flavor on the market in 2009. This flavor came out at the same time as a popular movie so the release squared up together and brought a lot of interest. That specialty bar just had three flavors, which were caramel, crème, and peanut butter. 

There are rumors that at one time, they also had a heart-shaped candy bar with only a crème filling, but this remains unverified at this time. 

While the flavors are no longer the original, they have always remained similar to the originals, with just minor adjustments to tweak the bar. It remains just as tasty and delightful as the original bars were. 

Ingredients

• Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk Powder, Soy Lecithin [an Emulsifier}, Natural Flavor)
• Corn Syrup
• Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk (Condensed Skim Milk, Sugar)
• Invert Sugar
• Sugar
• Coconut Oil
• Dry Roasted Peanuts
• Honey
• Butter
• Salt
• Natural and Artificial Flavors
• Dried Egg Whites and Salt.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 bar (42 g)	% Daily Values*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	200
Total Fat	9g	12%
Saturated Fat	5g	25%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	5mg	2%
Sodium	50mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate	30g	11%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars	27g
Protein	2g
Vitamin D		0%
Calcium		0%
Iron		0%
Potassium		0%

• The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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Conclusion

While Sky Bar Candy today is not exactly the same as the Sky Bar candy that was released in 1938, it still holds the original innovation and design that made it such a popular choice. Where so many different candies died with NECCO in 2018, this one was brought back to life in just over a year’s time and it remains popular. 

It is harder to find in stores, although you could come across it at a Cracker Barrel or similar store. But despite that, it is still available and you can get your hands on the bar. The new owners offer limited production, keeping Sky Bar candy available to fans just like you.