Chattanooga Moon Pie

MoonPie — the original marshmallow sandwich, sized by a coal miner.
 

The MoonPie is one of America's great Southern food icons. It was born in 1917 at the Chattanooga Bakery in Tennessee, and the origin story is the stuff of legend: a travelling salesman named Earl Mitchell asked a group of Kentucky coal miners what kind of snack they wanted for their lunch pails — something solid and filling. When he asked how big, one miner held his hands up to frame the rising moon and said, about that big. Back at the bakery, two graham cookies were sandwiched around a layer of marshmallow and coated all over, and the MoonPie was born.
 

The bakery itself had been set up almost by accident, to use up surplus flour from the mill next door, and it turned out well over a hundred different lines. By the late 1950s every one of them had been dropped except the snack the coal miner described. A century on it is still made in Chattanooga, and it is still the only thing that bakery makes.
 

It became the snack of the working South. Paired with an RC Cola for a nickel each, the RC Cola and a MoonPie combination was the Depression-era working man's lunch, famous enough to inspire a hit country song. To this day MoonPies are thrown from Mardi Gras floats in Mobile, Alabama, and the city drops a giant illuminated MoonPie on New Year's Eve. It is a genuine piece of Americana, with a texture — soft, cakey, marshmallowy — unlike anything in British confectionery.
 

Sweet and Glory stocks MoonPie wholesale for UK retailers.
 

The MoonPie Range
 

The range splits by build rather than by flavour. The Single Decker is the original format — two graham cookies, marshmallow, coating. The Double Decker, introduced in the 1960s, adds a third cookie and a second layer of marshmallow, making it the larger and more filling of the two. Flavours rotate around those two builds, and include the banana that is a distinctly American taste rarely found in British confectionery.
 

Individual flavours vary between shipments, so it is worth checking the current range for what is in stock now. UK compliance labels are supplied with every order.
 

Why Stock MoonPie?
 

MoonPies offer something genuinely different — a soft, filling, cake-meets-confectionery treat with no real equivalent on UK shelves, which makes them a natural talking point and an easy way to add interest to an American range. The heritage and the cultural story give them standout appeal: customers who know American culture seek them out, and the RC Cola and a MoonPie pairing is a ready-made cross-sell if you stock American sodas.
 

Their generous size positions them as a substantial snack rather than a small treat, appealing to customers after something that satisfies. They work well in an American import section, in lunch and food-to-go displays, and in themed promotions around American holidays. Their cosy, shareable nature also makes them a natural fit for autumn and winter — see our Bonfire Night sweet shop guide for seasonal stocking ideas. The unusual flavours, banana especially, drive curiosity purchases that bring customers back.
 

For the full history, the format breakdown and the RC Cola story, read our complete guide to MoonPie.
 

Frequently Asked Questions
 

What is a MoonPie?
 

A classic American treat of marshmallow sandwiched between soft graham cookies and coated all over. Created in 1917 at the Chattanooga Bakery in Tennessee, it has a soft, cakey texture unlike anything in British confectionery — closer to a snack cake than a biscuit or a chocolate bar.
 

Why is it called a MoonPie?
 

Because of a hand gesture. When a Chattanooga Bakery salesman asked a Kentucky coal miner in 1917 how large the new snack should be, the miner framed the rising moon with his hands and said about that big. The name describes the size the customer asked for rather than the ingredients — which is why nothing about a MoonPie is actually pie.
 

What is the difference between a Single Decker and a Double Decker?
 

The Double Decker has three cookies and two layers of marshmallow, making it larger and more filling. It was introduced in the 1960s as a more substantial version of the original two-cookie Single Decker.
 

What is the RC Cola and MoonPie combination?
 

During the Depression both cost five cents, so buying them together got a working man a filling lunch for a dime. The pairing became a Southern institution, well enough known that it was recorded as a hit song and is still celebrated at annual festivals in Tennessee and Alabama.
 

Where can I buy MoonPie wholesale in the UK?
 

Sweet and Glory supplies Chattanooga MoonPie wholesale across the UK with no minimum order, dispatched from our Manchester warehouse.
 

What is the minimum order for MoonPie wholesale?
 

There is no minimum order. The first parcel is free on orders over £150 ex VAT, with additional boxes charged at £7.10 each. Pallet delivery is free over £650 ex VAT. Everything is dispatched from our Manchester warehouse.