Christmas Countdown: Beich’s Classic Santa Claus Candy and More!

For decades the company Beich’s, also known as Bike’s, was one of the larger confectioners on the candy landscape.  Among many long-running products, they produced Laffy Taffy, which is still produced today by the Nestle company under their Wonka brand.   But for decades one of their seasonal mainstays was their classic Beich’s Santa Claus candy.

I’ve got two different versions of the Santa Claus Candy wrapper in my collection; a cellophane example from the 1970’s and an earlier wax paper type wrapper.  Here they are:

Bike Beich’s – chocolate covered Santa Claus candy 10-cent wrapper – 1970’s

Beich’s – Santa Claus candy bar wrapper – 1950’s 1960’s

There were other Christmas shapes and themes utilized by Beich’s in their seasonal lineups, as you can see in the following vintage trade ads:

Beich – Christmas candy bars – candy trade magazine ad – June 1969

I’d love to find one of those Snow Man or Reindeer wrappers, but thus far I’ve never come across any.

Beich – Christmas candy bars – candy trade magazine ad – June 1971

Last up is a trade ad from 1963, featuring a decidedly of-the-era attempt to get the attention of candy salesmen:

Beich – Christmas – Merry Money Makers – candy trade magazine ad double-page – August 1963

Here’s a close-up of the main packaging designs for 1963 – note the alternate version of Santa:

Bike’s 1963 assortment

For decades Beich’s provided wonderful Christmas-themed candies to the masses.  These days there’s not much left of what Beich’s was from way back then, aside from Laffy Taffy.  Still, Laffy Taffy does bring out the Christmas cheer from time-to-time, too:

Nestle – Wonka – Laffy Taffy Peppermint candy bag & wrapper – 2000’s

So that’s everything for today’s edition of the CollectingCandy.com Christmas Countdown.  I hope you enjoyed it and I’ll see you next time!

Happy Holidays!