Life Savers are a type of mint flavored candies considered as one of the most popular candies especially in the non-chocolate segment.

They are small (approximately 2 cm in diameter) ring shaped with the name Life embossed on the upper part and Savers embossed on the lower part of the ring. They are popular candies due to their ‘candy with a hole’ shape and a unique basic mint flavor.

Life Saver was invented as a summer candy by Clarence Crane in 1912 to withstand heat better than chocolate. With their ‘candy with a hole’ ring shape, they resembled like lifebuoys which were just gaining popularity at the time and hence they were named as Life Savers. Crane later sold the rights of trademark of the candy to Edward Noble who later formed the Life Savers Candy Company in 1913. Noble also came up with the concept of wrapping the candy in tin-foils to preserve the mint flavor better and keep the candy fresh. Life Saver’s first flavor was Pep-O-Mint.

There is also an urban legend surrounding the invention of ‘candy with a hole’ which says that Crane made the candy so because his daughter choked on a hard candy. The hole in the candy is supposed to facilitate breathing even if it gets stuck in the kid’s throat. But the claims have been denied many times.

Life Savers was a division of Kraft Foods before Wrigley bought it in 2004.Since the company started, Life Savers have come up with over 40 flavors, some discontinued with time and some becoming very popular. Flavors like ‘Orange’, ‘Lemon’, ‘Butter Rum’, ‘Tropicals’, ‘Wild Cherry’ and ‘Spear-O-Mints’ have become much popular along with the original Pep-O-Mint flavor with some of the flavors also available in sugar free versions. They also launched a sub brand of Life Savers as ‘Crème Savers’ in 1998.

With a history of almost hundred years, there is hardly any doubt why Life Savers are one of America’s as well as the world’s favorite and popular candies.