These Popular Candies Are Made Right Here in Massachusetts

Shop Local is probably a term we've all heard (and supported) before. But what about 'Give Local?'

It doesn't just have to be the holiday season where local gifts are given as presents, this Halloween you can actually give local as well.

Seems there are lots of different candies being made right here in Massachusetts and they could be what you give out to the trick-or-treaters this year.

Strange, but true I am not a huge candy eater. My sweet tooth is more into baked goods than chocolate covered treats and my favorite candy might be considered odd as well.

That's because I am a big fan of Junior Mints.

READ MORE: The Most Popular Halloween Candy in Massachusetts

I know, a little weird. But those dark chocolate covered melty mints are something I really love. So when I learned they were made in Massachusetts I was a bit floored.

Not sure where I thought candy was made honestly, but somehow Cambridge, MA never came to mind.

But that is exactly where Junior Mints are produced day in and day out at the edge of Kendall Square. Some 15 million Junior Mints a day!

The James O. Welch Company started making Junior Mints in Cambridge back in 1949. Since then the company was bought out by Nabisco in 1963, then the Warner-Lambert Company in 1988 and eventually sold to Tootsie Roll Industries in 1993.

Through all of that, the Cambridge factory never stopped producing those Junior Mints.

READ MORE: Cambridge Ranks Among Most Relaxed Cities in America

Yet Junior Mints are not the only candies made at the Cambridge factory, nor are they the only candies made in all of Massachusetts.

If you want to 'Shop Local' for your Halloween handouts, here's what to buy this season.

1. Junior Mints

2. Charleston Chew

Charleston Chew was produced in Cambridge in the 1930s and 40s, but moved out of state in the 1960s. When Tootsie Roll Industries bought them in 1993 however, they started being made in Massachusetts once again.

3. Sugar Babies

These caramel jelly beans were bought out by Nabisco in 1963 when Junior Mints were. They too traveled the same selling path and ended up being made in Cambridge by Tootsie Roll Industries like the others on this list.

4. Taza Chocolate

Only one of a handful of companies that actually turn cocoa beans to chocolate bars in America, Taza turns out thousands of chocolate disks and bars at their 75,000 square-foot factory in Somerville. Residents say the entire area smells of chocolate. Yum!