The Old-School 1930s Candy That Originally Had A Completely Different Name

What's in a name? That question isn't reserved for just Juliet and her Romeo. Plenty of brands and products have, over the years, shaken up their reputation by changing their name. Dunkin', for example, started out as Open Kettle and "The Great British Bake Off" had to change its name to cross the pond over to the states. Then there are Chick-O-Sticks. For the uninitiated, Chick-O-Sticks are a classic candy dating back to the 1930s. Though not as ubiquitous as, say, Snickers or M&Ms, Chick-O-Sticks are a certified classic among niche, vintage candy enjoyers (and also Snoop Dogg). However, they weren't always called Chick-O-Sticks.

When Atkinson Candy Company first introduced the coconut-covered, peanut-flavored honeycomb candy stick sometime in the 1930s, they were called Chicken Bones due to their rattling resemblance to, well, chicken bones. However, in 1955, Atkinson had to change up the name due to a trademarking issue since another company had already trademarked its candy under the Chicken Bones name. It seems that the competing Chicken Bones candy is also still being made and has a similar honeycomb stick base and coconut coating, though these Chicken Bones have a molasses base. The common name likely came from the fact that candies of this sort (honeycomb sticks with coconut) were common confections at the time and were often called Chicken Bones. Still, the switch to Chick-O-Stick doesn't seem to have stopped the confection from becoming an under-the-radar candy classic.

Not much has changed regarding the peanut-flavored candy in the years since Atkinson's Chicken Bones switched to the Chick-O-Stick name. That is, not until 2019 when the Texas-based candy company changed the recipe for its crunchy staple. The recipe switch-ups had nothing to do with the candy's crunchy, nutty, sweet-and-salty flavor; rather, Atkinson altered the recipe to remove artificial dyes and flavor. Its iconic orange color now comes from turmeric rather than dye.

The new recipe, like the name change of yore, hasn't stopped the candy's loyal fans from giving these old bones a crunch. In fact, a new batch of Chick-O-Stick enjoyers has popped up on TikTok thanks to the candy's presence on the TikTok shop, where you can purchase the candies and have them shipped to you. You can even get individually wrapped nuggets (bite-sized versions of the snack). However you like them, it looks like Chick-O-Sticks are sticking around for awhile yet.