Mounds is a candy bar made by the Hershey Company, consisting of shredded, sweetened coconut coated in dark chocolate. The company also produces the Almond Joy, a similar bar topped by whole almonds and covered in milk chocolate. The two products share common packaging and logo design, with Mounds using a red color scheme and Almond Joy blue.
History
Originally invented by candy maker Vincent Nitido of West Haven, Connecticut, Mounds was created in 1920 as a single piece for 5 cents.[1] In 1929, the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company purchased the line and began production. The format changed to two pieces that still sold for 5 cents, with the price rising to 10 cents after World War II.[2] Mounds was made in milk chocolate as well.
During World War II, Peter Paul was faced with severe shortages of sugar and coconut, which had been shipped from the Philippines before war broke out. The company instead began sourcing coconut from the Caribbean using its own fleet of small vessels for transportation of coconut supplies to the United States. Nicknamed the "Flea Fleet", these seven ships were small enough to avoid detailed scrutiny by German naval vessels operating in the Caribbean and yet carried sufficient supply of coconut to keep Peter Paul in operation during the war.