Werther's Original Caramel Popcorn - 140g

A founder who changed his name

It starts in 1903 in Werther, Westphalia, Germany, where August Storck founded the company that still carries his name. Which is a twist, because he later changed the family name to Oberwelland. After the Second World War, a new, larger and more modern production facility was built in Halle, Westphalia. Today August Storck KG is headquartered in Berlin, and it is owned by Axel Oberwelland. The name on the door and the name on the family went separate ways, and both stuck around.

Echte first, Original later

The sweet arrived in 1969 under the German name Werthers Echte. The international name Werther's Original came along in the 1990s, for export markets. Then there was the telly. From the late 1980s, adverts in Germany and the UK showed an older man offering a Werther's to a boy. In the British version, the actor was Arnold Peters. Most of us remember those adverts better than the programmes either side of them, which says something about the programmes.

Good company, then the sofa

August Storck KG lists Werther's Original as one of its core brands, alongside Toffifee, merci and RIESEN. Not a bad crowd to be seen with. As for this bag, it belongs wherever a film is on and the sofa is full. It goes round politely the first time. The second time, elbows come out. And somebody will swear blind the last handful was always theirs. It was not, and everyone knows it.