Clark Bar
Clark Bar is an American chocolate-covered peanut-butter confectionery brand introduced in Pittsburgh in 1917.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Clark Bar is a historic American candy-bar brand associated with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The original bar was developed in 1917 by David L. Clark, an Irish immigrant and confectioner whose company operated on Pittsburgh's North Side. Its defining construction was a crisp, peanut-based taffy or crunch center surrounded by a thin milk-chocolate coating. The earliest version included a caramel center, giving the product a layered combination of chocolate, caramel, peanut and crisp confectionery textures. The bar was created during the First World War and was designed in a form that could be individually wrapped and shipped to military personnel. Its portability, relatively small double-bar format and distinctive combination of filling and coating helped it gain a national market after the war. Clark Bar is widely described as the first American combination candy bar to achieve nationwide success. Its format influenced later products, including Butterfinger, introduced by Curtiss Candy Company in 1923, and 5th Avenue, introduced by Luden's in 1936. The product also had an important wartime role during the Second World War. The Clark company reportedly supplied approximately 1.5 million bars per day to the armed forces. When labor strikes disrupted production and created shortages, the federal government treated the factory's output as essential to the war effort. This military connection became part of the brand's historical identity and later contributed to its appearance as a favorite snack of the lead character in the television series Reacher. The recipe changed over time. In 1965, the company increased the peanut-butter content to strengthen the product's flavor. During the 1980s, the caramel center was removed, reportedly to improve shelf life. A different formula was used briefly in 1995, but a subsequent producer restored the earlier recipe. Related formats have included Clark Bar Miniatures, Clark Bar Bites, Clark Bar Juniors, seasonal Clark Bar Easter Eggs, and a dark-chocolate version. Boyer Candy Company also developed Clark Cup, a peanut-butter-cup product connected to the Clark Bar brand during the period when it was working to reproduce the original bar. The brand's corporate history has been unusually complex. The original family-owned D. L. Clark Company was acquired by Beatrice Foods in 1955 and sold to Leaf Candy Company in 1983. Production moved from the historic North Side plant to an O'Hara Township facility near Pittsburgh in 1986. Leaf later planned to discontinue several Clark products, and Pittsburgh entrepreneur Michael Carlow acquired the company and associated brands in the early 1990s. Financial problems, allegations involving a check-kiting scheme and bankruptcy caused further disruption. Production stopped in 1995, briefly resumed under Clark Bar America with the prior recipe, and ended again when that company closed in 1999. Necco subsequently purchased the recipe and equipment through bankruptcy proceedings and moved manufacturing to Revere, Massachusetts. Necco's 2018 bankruptcy triggered another ownership transition. After the assets changed hands and the Revere facility closed, Spangler Candy Company acquired the relevant confectionery assets and later sold the Clark Bar rights to Boyer Candy Company. Boyer, based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, worked to restart production in western Pennsylvania. Machinery-speed, consistency and shaping problems delayed the relaunch, but factory-outlet sales began in late 2019 and limited Pittsburgh-area retail distribution followed in 2020. As of the cited late-2021 account, distribution remained limited, although Boyer intended to expand availability. Clark Bar therefore remains an active but regionally concentrated American confectionery brand with strong historical ties to Pittsburgh and the military supply tradition.
History
David L. Clark developed the Clark Bar in Pittsburgh in 1917. The product used a then-novel format: a relatively thin milk-chocolate shell surrounding a non-chocolate center. Its early filling combined a crisp peanut confection with a caramel core. The bar was individually wrapped and suitable for shipment to troops during the First World War, helping establish its identity as a practical and portable candy product. After the war, Clark Bar distribution expanded nationally. Its small double-bar format and combination of chocolate, caramel, peanuts and crisp confectionery distinguished it from simpler chocolate bars. The product became the first American combination candy bar to achieve nationwide success and helped establish a format later adopted by competing products such as Butterfinger and 5th Avenue. During the Second World War, the company supplied large quantities to the armed forces. Reported output reached about 1.5 million bars daily, and federal authorities classified production as essential when labor strikes threatened military supplies. The D. L. Clark Company remained family-owned until 1955, when Beatrice Foods acquired it. Leaf Candy Company purchased the business in 1983. Leaf moved manufacturing in 1986 from the North Side facility, whose illuminated rooftop Clark Bar sign had become a Pittsburgh landmark, to a plant in O'Hara Township. By the end of the decade, Leaf was reassessing the product portfolio and its national marketing prospects. In 1990, it announced that the O'Hara plant would close and that several Clark products, including the principal Clark Bar line, would be discontinued or relocated. Pittsburgh entrepreneur Michael Carlow then acquired the D. L. Clark Company and remaining brands from Leaf. He assembled them with other regional businesses under the Pittsburgh Food & Beverage Company umbrella. The arrangement included the Pittsburgh Brewing Company and Iron City beer, a bakery, a glass manufacturer and the producer of Bun Bars. The venture became financially troubled. Allegations involving a check-kiting scheme led to Carlow's loss of control and imprisonment, and Clark Bar production ceased in 1995. Leaf foreclosed on a loan reportedly valued at $3 million and produced a version at its Illinois facility using a modified recipe. Clark's assets were later sold through bankruptcy court to Clark Bar America, which restarted manufacturing in O'Hara Township with the earlier formula. That revival was short-lived, and the company closed in 1999. Necco purchased the recipe and equipment for a reported $4.1 million and transferred production to its Revere, Massachusetts plant. During the Necco period, the bar was made by heating its core ingredients into a taffy-like mass, flattening the material, applying peanut butter, rolling and cutting the sheet, enrobing the pieces in liquid chocolate, cooling them and packaging the finished bars. The process was featured on the television documentary series How It's Made in 2016. Recipe changes accompanied the ownership history. Peanut-butter content was increased in 1965. The caramel center was removed during the 1980s to extend shelf life, and an alternative formula was used briefly in 1995. Later production restored the earlier recipe. The brand also appeared in multiple formats, including miniatures, bites, juniors, Easter Eggs and a dark-chocolate variant. Necco filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Its assets were sold, the Revere plant closed abruptly, and Spangler Candy Company became the eventual buyer of the relevant confectionery assets. Spangler subsequently sold the Clark Bar rights to Boyer Candy Company, an Altoona, Pennsylvania confectioner known for Mallo Cup. Boyer had previously bid for the brand in the 1990s and sought to bring production back to western Pennsylvania. The restart proved technically difficult because of machinery speed and challenges in reproducing the bar's traditional consistency and shape. Boyer first used the available material in Clark Cup, a related peanut-butter cup, and later began factory-outlet sales of the bar in December 2019. Limited Pittsburgh-area retail distribution followed in February 2020. The cited account stated that distribution was still regional in late 2021, although Boyer planned wider availability. Clark Bar remains an active heritage confectionery brand whose significance rests on its Pittsburgh origin, wartime history and unusually long sequence of ownership transitions.
- 2020
Limited Pittsburgh-area retail release
[1]The Boyer-produced bar entered a limited number of Pittsburgh-area stores.
- 2019
Boyer begins limited relaunch
[1]Boyer Candy Company began selling the relaunched Clark Bar at its factory outlet after resolving some manufacturing problems.
- 2018
Necco bankruptcy triggers another ownership transition
[1]Necco's bankruptcy and the closure of its Revere factory led to the transfer of the Clark Bar rights.
- 2016
Manufacturing process featured on How It's Made
[1]A documentary television segment showed the industrial process used to make the bar during the Necco period.
- 1999
Necco takes over production
[1]Necco bought the recipe and production equipment and moved manufacturing to Revere, Massachusetts.
- 1995
Original-style production briefly restored
[1]Clark Bar America restarted production with the prior recipe after acquiring assets through bankruptcy proceedings.
- 1986
Manufacturing moved to O'Hara Township
[1]Production moved from Pittsburgh's North Side to a facility in suburban O'Hara Township.
- 1983
Leaf Candy Company becomes owner
[1]Beatrice Foods sold the Clark business to Leaf Candy Company.
- 1965
Peanut-butter content increased
[1]The recipe was modified to increase peanut-butter content and intensify the product's flavor.
- 1955
Beatrice Foods acquires the original company
[1]The family-owned D. L. Clark Company became part of Beatrice Foods.
Products and positioning
A heritage American candy bar distinguished by a milk-chocolate coating and a crisp peanut-butter confectionery center, with strong Pittsburgh roots and a historical association with military rations.
Chocolate bar · 1917
Clark Bar
The flagship product is a milk-chocolate-coated confectionery bar built around a crisp peanut-butter and spun-taffy-style center. The original formula included a caramel core, while later versions removed the caramel. Its combination of a crunchy or crisp interior, peanut flavor and chocolate coating made it an early example of the American combination candy bar.
Miniature chocolate confectionery
Clark Bar Miniatures
A smaller-format version of the Clark Bar intended for bite-sized or assorted-candy consumption. It retains the brand's characteristic chocolate coating and peanut-based center.
Bite-sized confectionery
Clark Bar Bites
A bite-sized Clark Bar format created as a related product. The available reference identifies the product but does not provide detailed launch, distribution or current-availability information.
Smaller chocolate bar
Clark Bar Juniors
A smaller Clark Bar variation. It belongs to the brand's extended format range, although the available reference does not specify its launch date or continuing availability.
Seasonal confectionery
Clark Bar Easter Eggs
A seasonal Easter product associated with the Clark Bar brand. The reference confirms its existence but does not provide detailed information about its production history or current status.
Dark-chocolate confectionery
Dark Chocolate Clark Bar
A dark-chocolate variation of the Clark Bar. It extends the brand beyond its traditional milk-chocolate coating, but detailed information about its launch and availability is not provided.
Peanut-butter cup
Clark Cup
Boyer Candy Company's related peanut-butter cup product, developed while the company was working to restart Clark Bar production. Early Clark Cup filling incorporated ground pieces of Clark Bar material that did not meet the desired production shape or consistency.
Controversies
1995
Carlow check-kiting allegations and business collapse
During Michael Carlow's ownership of the D. L. Clark Company and related Pittsburgh Food & Beverage Company businesses, allegations concerning a check-kiting scheme contributed to his loss of control and eventual imprisonment. The resulting financial collapse disrupted Clark Bar manufacturing and led to further bankruptcy-related transfers.
Brand decisions
2019
Boyer relaunches Clark Bar at its factory outletProduct launchBackground
Boyer experienced delays in reproducing the bar's traditional shape, consistency and production speed.
Action taken
After addressing some manufacturing issues, Boyer made the relaunched Clark Bar available at its factory outlet in late December.
Aftermath
Limited retail distribution in the Pittsburgh area followed in early 2020, while broader distribution remained a future objective.
2018
Transfer rights after Necco bankruptcyM&ABackground
Necco entered bankruptcy, and the closure of its Revere facility threatened the continuity of Clark Bar manufacturing.
Action taken
After the relevant assets passed through bankruptcy-related transactions and Spangler Candy Company became the buyer, the Clark Bar rights were sold to Boyer Candy Company.
Aftermath
Boyer began developing a western Pennsylvania production restart, initially creating Clark Cup while it solved machinery and product-consistency problems.
1999
Necco purchases Clark Bar assetsM&ABackground
Clark Bar America's second production effort ended in bankruptcy, leaving the recipe and manufacturing equipment available for sale.
Action taken
Necco bought the recipe and production equipment and moved manufacturing to Revere, Massachusetts.
Aftermath
The product continued under Necco until that company's 2018 bankruptcy.
Purchase price for recipe and production equipment. $4.1 million (1999)
1995
Restore the earlier recipe after a formula changeGeneration changeBackground
Leaf produced Clark Bars in Illinois with an altered recipe after foreclosing on a loan and production stopped under Carlow.
Action taken
Clark Bar America restarted production in O'Hara Township using the prior recipe.
Aftermath
The restart was brief, and Clark Bar America closed in 1999.
Loan foreclosed by Leaf. (1995)
1990
Leaf plans to discontinue several Clark productsStrategyBackground
Leaf concluded that its marketing efforts had not established a sufficiently strong national profile for the Clark Bar and related products.
Action taken
Leaf announced plans to close the O'Hara facility, move production of selected other brands to the Chicago area and cease production of the Clark Bar and several other Clark products.
Aftermath
Michael Carlow acquired the company and remaining brands, but later financial problems caused another production interruption.
1980
Remove caramel centerStrategyBackground
The company sought to improve the product's shelf life.
Action taken
The caramel center was removed from the recipe during the 1980s.
Aftermath
The bar continued as a chocolate-coated peanut confection, but with a formula different from its original layered construction.
1965
Increase peanut-butter contentGeneration changeBackground
The company sought to strengthen the bar's peanut flavor within its established chocolate-and-peanut combination.
Action taken
The recipe was changed to increase the peanut-butter content.
Aftermath
The change became part of the product's evolving formula before the caramel center was later removed.
Recent events
- 2020
Clark Bar returns to limited Pittsburgh-area retail distribution[1]
Product launch
Boyer released the relaunched bar on a limited basis to stores in the Pittsburgh area, with broader distribution planned but not yet achieved in the cited period.
- 2019
Boyer Candy Company begins Clark Bar relaunch[1]
Product launch · Product generation
Boyer began limited factory-outlet sales after working through equipment and production-consistency problems associated with restarting the bar in western Pennsylvania.
- 2018
Necco enters bankruptcy and its assets change hands[1]
Bankruptcy · M&A
Necco's bankruptcy led to a sale of its assets, closure of the Revere facility and another transfer of the Clark Bar rights before Boyer became the brand's producer.
- 1999
Necco acquires Clark Bar recipe and equipment[1]
M&A · Bankruptcy
After Clark Bar America closed, Necco purchased the recipe and production equipment through bankruptcy and moved manufacturing to Revere, Massachusetts.
- 1995
Clark Bar America restarts production[1]
Product launch · Bankruptcy
A newly formed company acquired Clark assets through bankruptcy proceedings and briefly restarted production in O'Hara Township using the earlier recipe.
- 1990
Leaf announces plans to discontinue Clark Bar production[1]
Other
Leaf announced plans to close the O'Hara facility and discontinue several Clark products after marketing efforts failed to establish a sufficient national profile.
- 1986
Production moves to O'Hara Township[1]
Other
Manufacturing moved from the historic Pittsburgh North Side facility to a newer plant in suburban O'Hara Township.
- 1983
Leaf Candy Company acquires Clark brands[1]
M&A
Beatrice Foods sold the Clark business to Leaf Candy Company, beginning another phase of corporate ownership.
- 1955
D. L. Clark Company acquired by Beatrice Foods[1]
M&A
The original family-owned Clark confectionery business, including the Clark Bar, became part of Beatrice Foods.
Sources1 sources
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