Peanut Chews reunited with Goldenberg’s

The question of authenticity is a puzzling one when it comes to branding. Case in point, my favorite candy bar, Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews. It all goes back to David Goldenberg, a Romanian immigrant whose unheralded role in World War I is now coming to light. His Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews, developed at his plant in Philadelphia, were created in 1917 as a ration for American troops. Made of ground up peanuts in a molasses base and enrobed (as they say in the confection biz) in dark chocolate, it became a big hit in the Philly area, and for a while you could reliably find it at certain spots in New York.

The brand was sold to Just Born, a candy company that makes Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales. Now what happens when a brand changes hands is a mystery to me. Instead of taking something venerable with a fabulous story and introducing it to new audiences, what did Just Born do? First, they changed the name by expunging the name of the founder. Let’s just call them Peanut Chews. Then they changed the distinctive red and brown packaging that was its hallmark for decades. And while they were at it, why not get rid of the original funky lettering and replace it with something cartoony. Then they decided that maybe dark chocolate wasn’t right and they experimented with a milk chocolate alternative.

And then they have the nerve to add the word “original” to the package.

Look let’s get something straight. Just because you own it doesn’t mean you have the right to fuck with it. If Goldenberger’s Peanut Chews were good enough for the doughboys, they are good enough for us. It’s not an L.L. Bean hunting shoe that you keep improving. It’s a candy bar that has already achieved perfection. It doesn’t need focus groups; it needs respect. What Just Born bought was a great product that had no marketing and lousy distribution. Fix what’s broken.