Bugles corn snacks were introduced nationally by General Mills in 1966. The horn-shaped snack had first been test-marketed in 1965 before General Mills expanded it across the country in early 1966.
Bugles were developed by food engineer Verne E. Weiss of Plymouth, Minnesota. Their distinctive cone shape was part of a broader General Mills effort to create unusual snack foods. The same launch period included Daisys, Pizza Spins, Whistles, Buttons, and Bows, but those companion products were discontinued during the 1970s.
A common mix-up is the year 1965, which refers to Bugles’ test marketing rather than their national introduction. Another later date, 1981, is associated with Bugles production beginning at a plant in Lancaster, Ohio. For decades, General Mills manufactured the snacks at its West Chicago, Illinois, facility, which closed in 2017.
Bugles are made from formed corn meal and are commonly eaten plain or used to scoop dips. Their cone shape also made them famous as a fingertip snack.