What was the first flavor of Life Savers candy?

Life Savers made their debut in 1912, when chocolate manufacturer Clarence Crane decided to branch out and produce a candy that wouldn't melt in heat. The name came from the life-preserver-like shape, which was created by a pill-making machine. The first flavor used was peppermint; Crane called it Pep-O-Mint.

In 1913, Crane sold the rights to his Pep-O-Mint lifesavers to Edward John Noble for $2,900. Noble added tin-foil (and, later, aluminum-foil) wrappers to keep the mints fresh. In a flash of ingenuity, he expanded the market for his product by installing Life Savers displays next to the cash registers of restaurants and grocery stores. He also encouraged the owners of the establishments to always give customers a nickel in their change to encourage sales of the 5¢ Life Savers.

Within a few years, Noble introduced other flavor options, including Wint-O-Green, Lic-O-Rice, Choc-O-Late, and Cl-O-Ve.

Life Savers' famous fruit flavors came along in 1921. Initially sold in single-flavor rolls, the fruity flavors gained popularity quickly and began to be packaged and sold in the now-familiar rainbow-colored "five-flavor" roll starting in 1935. The original "five-flavor" lineup included pineapple, cherry, orange, lemon, and lime.

Today, you can also find Life Savers in flavors such as Butter Rum, Piña Colada, Banana, Mango Melon, Strawberry, Passion Fruit, Spear-O-Mint, Orange Mint, Cherry Lemonade, and Strawberry Apple, as well as in gummy form.