Enduring difficult times can push people to make it through in unexpected and creative ways. Humans have accomplished this time and time again, always coming out ok and even thriving! I'm sure that there are countless stories of resilience and innovation during the Great Depression, one of which is that of the Mallo Cup, a delicious candy created by two resilient brothers to make ends meet.
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The Humble Beginnings of the Mallo Cup
A story of small beginnings and resourcefulness, the Boyer Mallo Cup was created by Bill and Bob Boyer. Like many during the Great Depression, the family was struggling to make it work, so the Boyer brothers were looking for ways to make extra money. They started the business in their own kitchen, and each family member played a vital part of the operation. Bill made the candy, their mother and sister hand-wrapped it, and Bob would then sell the sweet Mallo Cups door to door.
Everyone was looking for a little joy during these hard times, and what could be more joyful than fudgy chocolate being brought to your door? At first, these sweet treats were made with homemade fudge and clusters of nuts and raisin. However, the mallow cups grew in demand and the family began creating more varieties, eventually moving their operation to a new manufacturing location in 1936.
The Evolution of the Mallo Cup
The Boyer family decided to try covering marshmallows in chocolate that year, which led to the original mallo cup, the first cup candy in the United States! Aptly named, the mallo cup is a cup-shaped sweet with a whipped marshmallow creme center mixed with coconut and covered in milk chocolate. This is a similar design to the well-known Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, which hadn't yet been created.
These wildly popular milk chocolate cups were eventually taken on by American Maize-Products, who then sold the Boyer candy company to Anthony Forgione in 1984, its current owner. The Boyer Candy headquarters are in Altoona, Pennsylvania, close to Pittsburgh.
The Mallo Cup is as fun and creative as it is tasty- upon opening a delicious mallow cup, you'll find a cardboard coin within! This play money can be used to buy other items from the Boyer candy co's catalog, a genius way to encourage chocolate lovers to try all of the Boyer candy products.
Mallo Cup, the perfect candy. Is there anything better than chocolate, marshmallow and coconut? Pl http://t.co/2BFJBFx87o
— Jackie Duffy (@JackieDuffy1214) November 27, 2013
Along with mallo cups, Boyer produces a whole range of delectable chocolate candy, specializing in marshmallow and peanut butter. These range from Peanut Butter Cups to Smoothies, a cup candy filled with peanut butter and butterscotch. Some others are the Minty Mallo and the Fluffernutter, a blend of peanut butter and marshmallow with a layer of chocolate on top. Boyer also created a dark chocolate variety of the Mallo Cup in 2010.
While Boyer's mallo cups never reached the fame of M&Ms or Hershey's candy bars, they are successful in their own right and maintain a loyal fan base. You can still buy mallo cups on the Boyer website and at certain candy stores, and they're just as yummy as they were back in 1936. The next time you bite into one of Boyer's delicious mallo cups, think of the resilient and creative Boyer brothers and how far their creation has come!
