Ohio chocolatier Clarence Crane created Pep-O-Mint Life Savers, the first round candy mint with a hole in the middle, in Cleveland. He began selling them in the summer of 1912. This was not long after the passenger liner, Titanic, hit an iceberg and sank in the North Sea. Whether by coincidence or to capitalize on strong public interest, the man who created the Life Saver chose a wrapper with the image of a sailor tossing a life preserver to a woman in need. The candy's catchphrase was, "For That Stormy Breath."
Crane's connection to the Life Saver was short-lived, however. He sold the candy business for $2,900 in 1913 to E.J. Noble, a New York City advertising man. It was Noble who made the candy a sensation, adding tin foil wrappers to keep the mints fresh and recruiting young people all over the country to sell the candy on commission.
More about the history of Life Savers:
- Forty flavors of Life Saver candies have been created since the mints debuted in 1912.
- The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. acquired the brand in 2004.
- Life Savers inventor Clarence Crane formed the Queen Victoria Chocolate Company in Cleveland in 1911.