Are you a Smartie?

While sitting at the front desk at the one’s face involuntarily pucker, which is newspaper office, I decided to dip into Mrs. Perry’s bag of candy. I reached inside the bag and pulled out a Smarties® candy roll. Do you remember those? I certainly do. Back in the day, you could “smart” your way out of awkward situations with a roll of Smarties®.

I relived my childhood in the brief moments it took me to devour a single roll. OK, several rolls. This brief reunion with my childhood candy made me curious about the company that manufactured this delight and why they named it Smarties®. I discovered that the company that created and manufactured Smarties® is the Ce De Candy Company, established in 1949 in New Jersey when Edward Dee brought his family from England to America.

The most exciting thing to me was the meaning behind the name. Some sources reveal that the founder named the candy Smarties® to encourage people to get an education. Other sources concur that the name was derived from the infinitive form of the verb “to smart,” meaning “to have what happens when you eat a Smartie®.”

Perhaps since the name has caused such a buzz throughout the years, the company officially changed its name to match. The founder’s granddaughters—Sarah Dee, Jessica Dee and Liz Dee—now sit at the company’s helm as the co-presidents. Thanks for keeping this childhood dream alive to so many lovers of the Smarties® roll.