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History of National Gumdrop Day
Although the origin of Gumdrop Day seems obscure, Gumdrops were believed to be invented by Percy Trusdale in 1801, however, many still debate about the history of gumdrops and how they came to be.

The term “gumdrops” was first documented during the 1859, when it appeared in the Illinois State Chronicle as it reported on a candy shop, owned by George Julier, who offered “Fresh GumDrops, assorted flavour wholesale or retail.”

Credit for the modern gumdrop goes to chemist and candy manufacturer Percy S. Truesdell. According to articles written after his death in 1948, Truesdell took the once hard, poorly flavoured glob of sugar and turned it into the smooth, chewy delight we enjoy today. While at the University of Ohio, the chemist altered the consistency of the candy by experimenting with the amount of starch used. He later worked for the Snyder-Chafee Company until 1915. In 1916, Truesdell founded and incorporated the P.S. Truesdell Candy Manufacturing Company. At his death, he became known as the Gumdrop King.

Gumdrops are a chewy, brightly-coloured, fruit-flavoured confection, usually shaped like a truncated cone, and coated in granulated sugar. When they’re flavoured with spices (allspice, cinnamon, clove, liquorice, peppermint, and wintergreen, for example) they’re called spice drops. Outside the USA, the candy is known as American hard gums or hard gum candy.

National Gumdrop Day facts
✅ ​Most popular flavour
The most popular gumdrop flavour is cherry, followed by grape, orange, and lemon.

✅ Largest gumdrop
At slightly over 10 pounds, Brach’s Candy holds the world record for the biggest gumdrop (in the conventional shape).

✅ Most eaten in one minute
In 2017, Kevin “L.A. Beast” Strahle established a record by eating 31 gummy bears in one minute.

✅ Did you know: In 2014, Germany produced the world’s largest gummy candy of any type; it weighed 1,128 pounds and 12 ounces and took six days to solidify while refrigerated.