Editing Clodhopper (candy)

{{Short description|Crunchy, fudge-covered graham clusters}}
[[Image:Cookies & Clods.png|A package of Cookies and Clods, one of the three types of Clodhoppers|250px|thumb]]
'''Clodhoppers''' are crunchy, [[fudge]]-covered [[graham cracker|graham]] clusters. They were originally discovered and marketed by the Kraves Candy Co., located in [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=158 |title=Krave's: sweet success |last=Kirbyson |first=Geoff |publisher=brandchannel |date=15 December 2003 |access-date=2013-07-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916104357/http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=158 |archive-date=2012-09-16 }}</ref> In 2006, the brand and recipes were sold to Brookside Foods, who were in turn sold to [[The Hershey Company|Hershey's]] in 2011.

Clodhoppers are available in vanilla & cocoa (originally named "chocolate") flavours, while dark chocolate, dark chocolate fudge, and "Cookies & Clods" flavours were sold during Kraves Candy's ownership of the product. The peanut butter flavour was the first flavour to be discontinued {{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}.

==History==
It has been recorded that the candy and [[recipe]] were originally created by Chris Emery's grandmother, Edith Baker, as a treat for her family.<ref name=ch>{{cite news |title=Winnipeg's Clodhopper cook dies at age 93 |url=http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/world-s-oldest-dog-dies-in-port-jefferson-station-1.1412141|work=[[Winnipeg Free Press]]|publisher=[[Calgary Herald]]|date=2009-08-25 |access-date=2009-09-03}}</ref> Baker made the small candies from [[graham wafer]] and [[chocolate]].
In 1996, Chris Emery and his high school friend Larry Finnson decided to sell the Clodhoppers made by Emery's grandmother in their garage.<ref name=ch/> In 1998, they signed a distribution contract with [[Wal-Mart]].

The Krave's factory in Winnipeg once produced 2,500 pounds of Clodhoppers per hour.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Clodhoppers |publisher=Clodhoppers |url=http://www.clodhoppers.tv/about.html |access-date=2007-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825213110/http://www.clodhoppers.tv/about.html |archive-date=2006-08-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 2006, the company's Clodhopper production plant in Winnipeg employed more than 20 employees<ref name=ch/> and sold millions of the candies throughout [[North America]].<ref name=ch/>

In 2006, Krave's Candy sold its assets, which included its [[brands]], names, [[recipes]], customer lists, [[inventory]] and packaging equipment to Brookside Foods, based in [[Abbotsford, British Columbia|Abbotsford]], [[British Columbia]].<ref name=ch/> Krave's Candy was selling millions of dollars' worth of Clodhoppers annually across North America at the time of the sale.<ref>{{cite web | title = Winnipeg Labour Market Bulletin | publisher = Service Canada | url = http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/mb/lmiquarter1_06/wpg03.shtml | access-date = 2007-11-24}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

In February 2012, Chris Emery and Larry Finnson, the founders of Clodhoppers formed a new start up, OMG's Candy, bringing to market a similar product,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Canada Newswire|url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/918769/omg-canada-s-confectionary-duo-strikes-a-sweet-deal-with-arlene-dickinson|title= OMG! Canada's Confectionary Duo Strikes a Sweet Deal with Arlene Dickinson|date=9 February 2012}}</ref> which includes diced almonds and toffee bits. In October 2012, Brookside Foods confirmed on their Facebook page that they had discontinued making Clodhoppers candy.<ref>https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=439537209421615&id=144069528968386&comment_id=4811389&offset=0&total_comments=1 {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref>

In 2016, [[The Hershey Company]] (who bought Brookside in 2011 after the Krave's Candy sale) brought back Clodhoppers under their own branding. The revived product is available in vanilla and cocoa flavours, and can be found at some gas station and convenience store chains, including [[Speedway LLC|Speedway]] in the northeastern United States. Hershey's later released new Clodhoppers flavours in 2017 under the Hershey's Crunchers branding, including variants based on [[Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme]] bars, [[Reese's]] peanut butter cups, and [[s'mores]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Brand name confectionery]]
[[Category:Canadian brands]]
[[Category:Canadian confectionery]]
[[Category:Companies based in Winnipeg]]
[[Category:Cuisine of Manitoba]]