Candy manufacturer, Clarence Crane of Garrettsville, Ohio invented the brand in 1912 as a "summer candy" that could withstand heat better than chocolate.  Clarence had switched from the maple sugar business to chocolates the year before, but found they sold poorly in the summer because air conditioning was rare and they melted.  He saw a machine that pharmacies used to make pills that were round and wafer-shaped and decided he would use those to make mints which at the time were made square.  The machinery could also punch a hole in the center.  The candy is so named due to its shape resembling that of a traditional ring-style life preerver also known as a "life saver".  

After registering the trademark, Crane sold the rights in 1913 sold the formula for his Life Savers candy to  to Edward John Noble of Gouverneur, New York for $2,900. Noble started his own candy company and began producing the selling the mints known as Pep-O-Mint Life Savers.  The began to package the mints into rolls wrapped in tin foil to keep them fresh.  This process was done by hand until 1919 when machinery was developed by Edward Noble's brother, brother, Robert Peckham Noble to streamline the process. 

Noble significantly expanded the market for the product by installing Life Savers displays next to cash registers of saloons, cigar stores, drug stores, barber shops and restaurants.  He also encouraged the owners of the establishments to always give customers a nickel in their change to encourage sales of the 5 cent Life Savers.  the slogan "still only  5 cents" helped Life Savers to become a favorite treat for children with a tight allowance.  Since then, many different flavors of Life Savers have been produced.  The five-flavor roll first appeared in 1935 and is known for its distinctive packaging. Life Savers have become an iconic brand across fruit-flavored confections and mints due to their great tasting flavors and unique candy-with-the-hole shape!

During WWII, other candy manufacturers donated their sugar rations to keep Life Savers in production so the little candies could be shared with the armed forces as a tasty reminder of life at home.  

Life Savers production was based in Holland, Michigan until 2002 when it was moved to Montreal, Quebec due to significantly lower sugar prices in the new location.  The company's headquarters was in Port Chester, New York where Life Savers were made from 1920 until 1984.  Although the headquarters has been converted to apartments, it still remains some Life Savers signage.  It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.  

1920-2020:  Celebrating Our Building's 100 Years!

"Life is Sweet when You live in a Candy Factory".

1920 . 1950 . 2020

As many as 616 million rolls of Life Savers were produced a year during its peak period in the 1960s.  Indeed, old-timers recalled that residents always knew which flavor was being produced by the aroma that wafted over the town.

Ray Sammarco, former plant manager

New York Times, 1989

Circa 1956

The Infamous Candy Rolls

These 15'x6' Life Savers candy rolls replicas were seen by all who passed including those traveling by plane, train, automobile or by foot!  As said by a local,  "I remember being a kid, taking the New Haven line to and from Rye and seeing those rolls lit up at night!"

The 4 Original Flavors of Life Savers

Lemon, Licorice, Lime and Orange

The Classic 5 Flavors that Have Stood the Test of Time

Cherry, Raspberry, Watermelon, Orange and Pineapple

Sidenote:  Do Life Savers have a hole to prevent choking?  No.  The untrue story is that Crane put a hole in Life Savers to prevent choking because his daughter had choked on candy.  The true story is that he wanted the candy to look different from other candies that were popular at the time.  Now you know!