Dunder Mifflin: 'Office' paper now real. Can it top these fiction-to-fact products?

2. Willy Wonka Candy Company (“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," 1971)

Business Wire/File
This file photo shows Nerds, a popular product from the Wonka candy brand. The Willy Wonka Candy Company launched to coincide with the release of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" in 1971 and has since become a successful brand in its own right.

Launched in 1971 by Breaker Confections, a Chicago-based candy company, to coincide with the release of the first film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book,  “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the Wonka brand manufactured confections lifted directly from the story of the eccentric candymaker Wonka, like Wonka Bars and Everlasting Gobstoppers. The Willy Wonka brand was bought by Nestlé in 1988 and has emerged as a well-established candy brand apart from the book and films, boasting popular items like Nerds, SweeTarts, Runts, and Laffy Taffy.

 

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