Werther's Original

Werther's Original is an international confectionery brand owned by the German company August Storck. It is best known for individually wrapped caramel and butter candies with a creamy butterscotch profile. The brand takes its name from Werther, a town in Westphalia associated with the origins of the Storck business. Storck was established in 1903, although the available reference material does not identify a separate founding year for the Werther's Original brand itself. The product was originally sold in Germany under the name Werthers Echte. The brand name began to be used in 1969, linking the candy to the town of Werther and emphasizing its German confectionery heritage. During the 1990s, Werther's Original became the international-market name. The confectionery is now manufactured near the historic area of origin, in Halle, Germany. The original product was a caramel hard candy. Over time, the portfolio expanded into several textures and flavor formats, including chewy toffees, soft butterscotch melts that dissolve readily in the mouth, and candies with chocolate centers. Sugar-free variants use isomalt instead of conventional sugar and have been offered in original butterscotch, butterscotch coffee swirl, and butterscotch mint swirl flavors. Regional products have also included Werther's Chocolate in the United Kingdom, combining milk or dark chocolate with a butterscotch element, and Butterscotch Apple Filled in Canada and the United States, which adds a green-apple-flavored center. The brand's positioning has historically combined traditional German confectionery, indulgent caramel flavor, and a family-oriented emotional identity. Its best-known advertising device is the image of a grandfather offering a Werther's candy to a boy. German and British television commercials from the late 1980s helped establish this intergenerational narrative, while United States advertising used a similar kindly-grandfather character. The campaigns presented the candy as a small ritual associated with affection, generosity, and being treated as special, rather than simply as an everyday sugar confection. Werther's Original became particularly visible in Europe and North America and has also been marketed in Japan. A Japanese-dubbed version of one of the commercials later attracted online attention because of its unusual voice acting, becoming an Internet meme on Japanese online communities. This episode increased the visibility of the advertising beyond its original commercial purpose, although it was not a product controversy. Today, Werther's Original remains an active Storck brand with a broad caramel and butterscotch confectionery range. Its international identity rests on the combination of a recognizable gold-toned package, a consistent creamy caramel taste, and advertising that connects the product with family memories and traditional treats.

Werther's Original is a confectionery brand of August Storck, the German sweets company founded in 1903. The brand is named after Werther, a town in Westphalia associated with the company's origins. The available historical account does not provide a distinct founding date for the candy brand, but it records a major naming point in 1969, when the product began to be marketed as Werthers Echte. The original Werther product was a hard caramel candy made in the traditional style associated with butter and caramel confectionery. The name connected the product with its regional German background and helped distinguish it within Storck's portfolio. As the candy reached consumers outside Germany, the name was adapted. In the 1990s, Werther's Original became the principal international-market name, while Werthers Echte remained associated with the German naming tradition. Manufacturing later became associated with Halle, near the historic area of Werther. The brand developed from a single hard candy into a broader range of textures and flavor combinations. Chewy toffees offered a more elastic eating experience, while soft butterscotch melts were designed to soften and dissolve in the mouth. Chocolate-filled versions added a contrasting center. Storck also introduced sugar-free products using isomalt, including original butterscotch, coffee-swirl, and mint-swirl variants. Regional assortment decisions expanded the brand beyond its core hard candy. In the United Kingdom, Werther's Chocolate was sold as milk or dark chocolate with butterscotch running through it and used packaging related to the Werther's Original identity. In Canada and the United States, Butterscotch Apple Filled combined the familiar butterscotch shell with a green-apple-flavored filling. These products illustrate a strategy of preserving the central caramel identity while adapting formats and flavors to local markets. Advertising played a major role in the brand's public image. German and British television commercials from the late 1980s frequently showed an older man giving Werther's candy to a boy. The commercial relationship framed the product as an affectionate family tradition. Arnold Peters appeared in the German and British advertising, while Robert Rockwell played a comparable grandfather figure in United States commercials. One British advertisement used a montage of shared experiences between grandfather and grandson, reinforcing the idea that the candy represented care and special treatment. The advertising concept was later adapted for Japan. A dubbed version of a commercial aired there in the early 2000s and became notable on Japanese Internet communities because of its unusual vocal performance. The clip's circulation as a meme gave the brand an unintended form of online cultural visibility, separate from its original nostalgic positioning. Werther's Original remains an active international brand under August Storck. Its continuing identity is built around caramel and butter confectionery, multiple textures and regional variants, and a durable association with traditional treats and intergenerational sharing.

• 2000

  Japanese advertising gains meme status

  [1]Werther's Originalen.wikipedia.org

  A Japanese-dubbed television advertisement becomes an Internet meme because of its distinctive voice acting.

• 1990

  Werther's Original becomes the international name

  [1]Werther's Originalen.wikipedia.org

  The Werther's Original name is adopted for international markets during the 1990s.

• 1969

  Werthers Echte branding begins

  [1]Werther's Originalen.wikipedia.org

  The caramel candy begins to be marketed under the German brand name Werthers Echte.

• 1909

  Werther's Echte is introduced

  [1]Werther's Originalen.wikipedia.org

  Storck introduces the butter candy associated with Werther, Germany, under the name Werther's Echte.

• 1903

  Storck is established

  [1]Werther's Originalen.wikipedia.org

  August Storck, the German confectionery company that owns Werther's Original, is founded.

• 1903

  August Storck is founded

  [2]August Storcken.wikipedia.org

  August Storck establishes the German confectionery company that later develops and owns the Werther's brand.

• International export naming develops

  [1]Werther's Originalen.wikipedia.org

  As the product expands outside Germany, Werther's Original and Werther's Originals become the principal names used in international markets.

• The portfolio expands beyond hard candies

  [3]Werther's Original official websitewerthers-original.us

  The brand extends into soft and chewy caramels, sugar-free products, filled sweets, and caramel popcorn in selected markets.

A premium-leaning traditional confectionery brand centered on creamy caramel, butterscotch flavor, familiar packaging, and nostalgic family-oriented storytelling.

• Caramel hard candy · 1909

  Werther's Original Hard Candies

  The original Werther's format is a firm, individually wrapped caramel candy with a buttery butterscotch character, made around a cooked sugar, butter, and cream flavor profile. It is the product most closely associated with the brand's traditional identity and remains the reference point for later soft, chewy, filled, and sugar-free variants. The brand's signature product is an individually wrapped, slowly dissolving butter candy made around a cooked sugar, butter, and cream flavor profile. It is the clearest expression of Werther's traditional positioning and remains the product most closely associated with the brand across international markets.

• Chewy confectionery

  Werther's Chewy Toffees

  Chewy toffees extend the core caramel profile into a softer, more elastic format. They retain the brand's butter-and-caramel flavor while providing a different texture from the original hard candy.

• Soft candy

  Werther's Butterscotch Melts

  Butterscotch melts are a soft, waxy confection designed to melt readily in the mouth. The format emphasizes a smooth and lingering butterscotch experience rather than the prolonged hardness of the original candy.

• Filled candy

  Werther's Chocolate-Filled Candies

  Chocolate-filled versions combine the established Werther's caramel shell or profile with a chocolate center. The format adds contrast and broadens the brand from a single-note caramel hard candy into a more indulgent filled confection.

• Sugar-free candy

  Werther's Sugar-Free Variants

  The sugar-free range uses isomalt as a sugar substitute. Documented flavor formats include original butterscotch, butterscotch coffee swirl, and butterscotch mint swirl, allowing the brand to preserve its core flavor identity in reduced-sugar products. Availability, formulation, and exact product naming vary by country, and these products are generally positioned as an extension rather than a replacement for the standard butter candy. Sugar-free variants adapt the core Werther's flavor concept for consumers seeking a reduced-sugar confectionery option. Availability, formulation, and exact product naming vary by country, and these products are generally positioned as an extension rather than a replacement for the standard butter candy.

• Chocolate confectionery

  Werther's Chocolate

  Sold in the United Kingdom, Werther's Chocolate is available in milk and dark chocolate formats with butterscotch running through the chocolate. Its packaging and wrappers use the established Werther's Original visual identity.

• Filled hard candy

  Butterscotch Apple Filled

  Available in Canada and the United States, this regional variant pairs a Werther's-style butterscotch candy with a green-apple-flavored filling. It preserves the brand's caramel base while introducing a fruit-flavored center.

• Soft caramel

  Werther's Original Soft Caramels

  Soft caramels apply the brand's characteristic buttery caramel taste to a more yielding texture. They broaden the brand beyond the traditional hard candy and are commonly sold as individually wrapped pieces or in sharing-oriented packages, depending on the market. Chewy caramels provide a denser, longer-lasting texture than the boiled candy while retaining the brand's butter-caramel flavor. They represent one of the principal texture extensions used to attract consumers who prefer a chew rather than a dissolving sweet.

• Caramel popcorn

  Werther's Original Caramel Popcorn

  Caramel popcorn extends the brand into a snack format by combining popcorn with a Werther's-style caramel coating or flavor. It uses the brand's strongest sensory asset—sweet butter caramel—in a product intended for sharing and snacking rather than individual candy consumption.

• 2000Japanese-dubbed grandfather commercial

  Japan

  A dubbed Japanese version of the grandfather-themed advertising aired in the early 2000s. Its unusual voice acting later led to circulation as an Internet meme on Japanese online communities, generating unintended online attention.

  Outcome. Generated unintended online attention and meme circulation.

  Source
• 1988Grandfather and grandson television advertising

  Germany · United Kingdom

  Late-1980s commercials showed an older man offering Werther's candy to a boy. British executions depicted affectionate shared moments, including a grandfather and grandson observing animals from a train, and presented the candy as a sign that the child was special. The campaign established the brand's long-running intergenerational and nostalgic advertising identity.

  Outcome. Established the brand's long-running intergenerational and nostalgic advertising identity.

  Source
• 1988Kind-hearted grandfather campaign

  United States

  United States television advertising used actor Robert Rockwell as a kind grandfather who shared Werther's candy with a child, adapting the family-centered concept for the American market and reinforcing Werther's Original as a traditional treat associated with family affection.

  Outcome. Reinforced Werther's Original as a traditional treat associated with family affection.

  Source

• 1990

  Adopt Werther's Original for international marketsStrategy

  Background

  The brand was expanding beyond its German market and required a name suitable for international distribution.

  Action taken

  Werther's Original was adopted as the international-market name during the 1990s.

  Aftermath

  The English-language name became the principal global identity while retaining the association with Werther in Westphalia.

  Source

• 1969

  Introduce Werthers Echte brandingStrategy

  Background

  The caramel hard candy needed a consistent brand identity connected to its German place association.

  Action taken

  The product began to be marketed under the name Werthers Echte.

  Aftermath

  The name became the German-market predecessor to the later international Werther's Original identity.

  Source

• Expand the caramel range into multiple formatsProduct launch

  Background

  The original hard candy provided a base for consumers seeking different textures and flavor combinations.

  Action taken

  The portfolio was extended with chewy toffees, soft butterscotch melts, chocolate-filled candies, sugar-free variants, and regional products.

  Aftermath

  Werther's Original developed from a single hard candy into a broader caramel and butterscotch confectionery range.

  Source

1. 1Werther's Originalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2August Storcken.wikipedia.org
3. 3Werther's Original official websitewerthers-original.us