Lemonhead

When Salvatore Ferrara saw his newborn grandson after a difficult delivery involving forceps, the baby's head looked so much like a lemon that the family matriarch named him Lemonhead. That nickname stuck to the child and later inspired the brand name when the candy launched in 1962. The treat features a hard candy core wrapped in a soft, intensely sour shell with a sweet coating on top.

Ferrara Candy Company manufactures these round sweets using a cold panning process similar to Red Hots. Layers of sugar and flavor build up until the shape forms. While the line briefly expanded in the 1980s to include Grapeheads, Cherryheads, and Appleheads, only the original lemon variety remains in mainstream distribution today. Production runs at roughly 500 million units annually.

The brand maintains a strong presence in the United States but distributes globally. In August 2026, Ferrara introduced $1 pocket packs to make the candy more accessible. By September 2026, reports confirmed plans to release frozen Lemonhead core pops, expanding the product into the ice pop category. [edit]