Appetites investigates: Was Chicago Mix actually invented in Minnesota?

It’s called Chicago Mix. That curious mixture of savory and sweet popcorn, the candy-coated mixed with the cheesy. Once you start in on Chicago Mix, it’s tough to stop. Despite the regional name, there are claims that Chicago Mix originated here in the Capitol city of St. Paul.

MPR News editor Lisa Ryan looked into the history of the name and who really invented it for Appetites on All Things Considered.

Click on the audio player above to listen to the full interview.

What got you curious about Chicago Mix?

My family is from Chicago, so I grew up with Chicago Mix popcorn. When I moved here, I was a little bit surprised to find that people here claim it as original to Minnesota, so I wanted to look into it.

I found out that Candyland here in St. Paul owns the trademark, so they are — technically — the one and only Chicago Mix here in the United States. But Garrett Popcorn Shop in Chicago claims they started serving their Chicago Mix in 1977.

Candyland didn’t start serving their version until about a decade later, when owner Brenda Lamb came back from a trip to Chicago and bagged up a mix of their popcorns to serve to customers. It was a hit.

Lamb says she called it Chicago Mix in honor of the city and because big city names draw attention to products.

Candyland applied for the trademark and in 1992, it became a Minnesota name officially.

Is there even a firm definition of what Chicago mix is?

Candyland has a slightly different version than the one I grew up with. They add their seasoned popcorn, which is seasoned with salt and oil and Candyland “magic,” as Lamb says. It’s the three original recipes from when the store first started as Flavo Korn in 1932.

The Chicago Mix I grew up with skips the salted popcorn. Their version is about a 50/50 mix of cheese and caramel corn.

Did Garrett’s invent the Chicago Mix?

Here’s the timeline: Garrett Popcorn Shop’s website says they started serving Chicago Mix in 1977, which is before Candyland claims it. It’s now not even called Chicago Mix at Garrett's, after a lawsuit from Candyland in 2014.

They now call it Garrett Mix or The Mix — at least in the United States. Internationally, they still use the Chicago Mix name because it’s a U.S. trademark.

I emailed Garrett’s to see if they'd want to tell me a little more about the history and the dispute, but they pointed me instead to their website, which tells the history of how it officially started in 1977 after customers started asking for an extra, empty bag so they could mix the cheese and caramel popcorns together.

It seems like maybe people invented it and stores started serving what people already wanted.

What more can you tell us about the lawsuit?

Candyland didn’t just sue Garrett’s, they sued Snyder-Lance, and Cornfields in Waukegan, Illinois to force the companies to stop using the name Chicago Mix.

Lamb told me that just this year alone, they’ve found 70 companies that tried selling Chicago Mix popcorn. She starts by sending them a friendly email to let them know there is a trademark, and she says most people are gracious about it and just didn't know.

But she says Candyland does send out cease-and-desist letters if needed, and clearly they are willing to sue if it comes to that.