Clark Crush Bar Returns After Nearly 50 Years
Some candy bars are trendy for a few months. Others hang around for more than a century, survive multiple owners and become part of the identity of they candy's hometown.
The Clark Bar definitely belongs in the second group.
Created in Pittsburgh in 1917, the classic Clark Bar became known for its crunchy peanut butter center covered in milk chocolate. Generations of candy lovers grew up with it, and for many people like us here in Pennsylvania, spotting that familiar red wrapper still brings back memories of corner stores, Halloween bags and candy counters loaded with hometown favorites.
Now the Clark family has a surprise addition. The Clark Crush Bar has arrived, but calling it “new” doesn’t tell the whole story.
More Than a Century of Clark Bar History
The Clark Bar was created by Irish immigrant David L. Clark, whose candy company traced its Pittsburgh roots back to the 1880s. When the Clark Bar debuted in 1917, its combination of chocolate and crunchy peanut butter candy helped turn it into one of America’s early combination candy-bar success stories.
The brand changed hands several times over the decades and eventually landed with Boyer Candy Company, our neighbors here in Altoona, Pennsylvania, maker also known for Mallo Cups. Boyer acquired the Clark Bar rights, recipes and equipment in 2018, returning the iconic candy to Pennsylvania.
That alone would be a pretty good comeback story, but someone at Boyer apparently kept digging through the archives.
A Forgotten Recipe Returns
While researching the history of the Clark Bar, Boyer discovered a recipe that had been forgotten for nearly 50 years. It described a different way to enjoy those familiar Clark flavors, combining chocolate, creamy peanut butter and pieces of the signature Clark crunch in a molded bar.
That recipe has now been brought back as the Clark Crush Bar.
Instead of simply copying the shape and texture of the traditional Clark Bar, Clark Crush delivers its chocolate-and-peanut-butter flavor in a different format. You still get the unmistakable Clark crunch, but it’s blended into a creamier peanut butter and chocolate experience.
It’s familiar enough to satisfy longtime Clark fans while still feeling like something entirely different.
New Candy or Edible Time Capsule?
The best part of this story is that Clark Crush wasn’t invented during a product-development meeting last Tuesday. This is a genuine piece of the brand’s history that was uncovered, dusted off and returned to candy shelves after almost half a century.
Boyer is producing Clark Crush in limited batches, so this may not be one of those candies you can casually decide to try six months from now. Candy collectors, Clark Bar fans and anyone who considers chocolate and peanut butter a major food group may want to order a couple boxes before they disappear.
The Clark Bar has spent more than a century earning its place in candy history. Now the Clark Crush Bar is giving everyone a chance to taste a chapter that nearly disappeared.