A Baltimore company that started out making chewing gum ended up inventing one of America's most recognisable caramel sticks — and gave it a deliberately misspelled name.
From chewing gum to caramel
Goetze's Candy Company was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1895 by August Goetze and his son William, originally trading as the Baltimore Chewing Gum Company. In 1917, the family developed a soft caramel candy known as "Chu-ees", which evolved into Caramel Creams — round caramels with a cream centre, sold under the nickname Bull's Eyes thanks to their striped appearance.
The stick that became Cow Tales
In 1984, Goetze's stretched that same caramel-and-cream recipe into a new shape: a long, thin cylinder of soft caramel wrapped around a vanilla cream centre, sold as Cow Tales. It used the same production know-how as Caramel Creams but in a completely different, more playful format — one that's since become one of Goetze's best-known products alongside the original Bull's Eyes.
A name with a story
The "Cow" in Cow Tales is a direct nod to Bull's Eyes, the nickname long attached to Caramel Creams. "Tales" was spelled deliberately rather than "Tails" to tie the candy to whimsical, nostalgic children's bedtime stories rather than to cattle anatomy — a small branding choice that's arguably done more for the name's memorability than the pun itself. Today Cow Tales sit comfortably alongside other American candy and snacks as one of the more distinctive shapes on the shelf.
Frequently asked questions
Who makes Cow Tales?
Cow Tales are made by Goetze's Candy Company, a family-owned confectioner founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1895, originally as the Baltimore Chewing Gum Company.
When were Cow Tales first made?
Cow Tales launched in 1984, built on the same soft caramel recipe Goetze's had used since 1917 for its Caramel Creams, also known as Bull's Eyes.
Why are they called Cow Tales rather than Cow Tails?
Goetze's deliberately spelled it "Tales" rather than "Tails" to link the candy to whimsical, nostalgic children's bedtime stories, while "Cow" nodded to the existing Bull's Eyes branding of its Caramel Creams.