NATIONAL SMARTIES® DAY | October 2
NATIONAL SMARTIES® DAY
National Smarties Day on October 2 celebrates the sweet legacy of an iconic candy and the smarty pants people who never stop learning.
#NationalSmartiesDay
Smarties have been around since 1949. That's over 70 years of celebrating this sweet candy wafer roll. In honor of National Smarties Day, we invite everyone to take a walk down memory lane and enjoy this nostalgic candy. If you've never tried Smarties, this is your chance to become a new member of the smarty pants club.
What are Smarties? Smarties are rolls of a small pastel colored candy tablets that are sweet and a little bit sour. Unlike most candy, Smarties have only 6 ingredients, too. There are six different flavors in a Smarties package. Flavors are randomly mixed together for each individual Smarties roll.
Smarties Original Flavor Lineup
- White = Orange cream
- Yellow = Pineapple
- Pink = Cherry
- Green = Strawberry
- Purple = Grape
- Orange = Orange
A Smart Choice
When it comes to candy, Smarties are considered a smart choice. For starters, Smarties are free from the nine major food allergies: milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy and sesame.
If you are at a loss for classic gluten‑free candy, Smarties products are your delicious solution. The sweet treat is also gluten-free. Interestingly, the ingredients found in Smarties candy contains no animal products, making them a tasty and cruelty-free choice for anyone looking for delicious vegan candy. Did we mention they are only 25 calories in each roll of Smarties?
SMARTIE PANTS CELEBRATIONS
There are an endless number of ways to celebrate today. If your candy cravings are keeping you from thinking straight, here’s a list of ideas to get you started:
- Incorporate some Smarties in your favorite sweet treat. Use as a topping on ice cream, jello, or cake. You can even bake them in cookies, brownies or mix into homemade jam!
- Create a DIY "Smartie Pants" Halloween costume.
- Craft a thank you note for teachers and tape a Smarties roll to it.
- Use Smarties as a teaching tool to learn to count, identify colors, match items, and build shapes to help with motor skills.
- Make up your best Smarties pun or go with the classic, “Thanks for making me a Smartie!”
- Eat a roll of Smarties, of course. Or maybe two.
- Pick up some Smarties Mega Lollies for a friend.
- Tag and post your Smarties celebration using #NationalSmartiesDay.
CLASSIC HISTORY
In 2022, National Day Calendar welcomed the Smarties Candy Company to our list of Founders. Beginning October 2 and every year after, we will be celebrating National Smarties Day in sweet style. The October 2 date also pays a beautiful tribute to the birthday of company Founder and Smarties creator Edward Dee, who was born on this day.
Edward Dee, Smarties Founder 1924-2019
Iconic Legacy
Edward Dee (1924-2019) came to the U.S. from England with his family in 1949. As a third-generation candy maker, Dee arrived with a candy idea that would build his legacy. Beginning in a factory in Bloomfield, N.J., Dee began Ce De Candy Inc. in a rental property with two machines--a wrapping machine and a candy pellet-making machine. Dee would move his company to Elizabeth, N.J. in 1959 and finally to Union, N.J. in 1967, where the business remains today.
Co-Presidents Sarah Dee, Jessica Dee Sawyer and Liz Dee
In 2011, the company decided to change their name from Ce De Candy Inc. to Smarties Candy Company. The Dee family has always been sole owners of the company, keeping their family tradition alive. In the 1970s, Dee’s sons Jonathan and Michael joined the business. The company is now led by the founder’s granddaughters, Co-Presidents Sarah Dee, Jessica Dee Sawyer and Liz Dee, making it a woman run company for the first time in its history.
There have been many updates over the years including improving manufacturing facilities, adding solar power to their NJ candy factory which offsets half of their energy usage, and releasing new candy products including Mega Smarties – the largest Smarties roll available!
A Sweet Future
Education was an important aspect in Dee's life long before he would immigrate to the U.S. He was a Cambridge University graduate and he knew the value of education. Because of this, he decided to name his candy Smarties as a way to encourage others to never stop learning. In 2013 the company began the "Smarties Think" initiative to continue his vision. Since then, Smarties has given more than $250,000 to classrooms in need.
The early days of Edward Dee going door-to-door to make candy sales clearly paid off. Today, the Smarties brand continues to be a leader in the candy industry producing billions of Smarties rolls per year. With factories in New Jersey and Ontario, the Dee family continues the tradition of providing an iconic candy for smarty pants people everywhere.
