Sen-Sen - America's Oldest Breath Freshener from the Victory Old-time Candy Store

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Home > Old-time Candy Store > Breath Fresheners

Sen-Sen - The Original Breath Deodorizer

Sen-Sen Classic Breath Deodorizer

Item Id: 56004

Your Price:

$0.99

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In Stock

Quantity Pricing

Quantity

Price

1 - 11
$0.99

12 - 23
$0.92

24 - 48
$0.90

49+
$0.85

Quantity

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Description

When a swain^[1] went courting his sweetheart, he often carried in his pocket a little envelope of Sen-Sen. When his younger brother indulged in smoking behind the barn, he too, had use for the exotic little pellets. Sen-Sen was to the 19th century what breath mints are to our time. Any country store worth its salt, prominently displayed a box of the handy little packets within easy reach of its customers.

Sen-Sen was developed shortly before the turn of the 20th century by T. B. Dunn and Co., perfume dealers in Rochester, New York. According to Dunns history, a plant supervisor by the name of Mr. Kerschner developed a formula for an effective and refreshing breath perfume. Like most products, Sen-Sen has survived many ownership changes. It is currently owned and produced by F & F Foods.

The origin of the name Sen-Sen has been lost to history. In all the documentation passed along at the sale of the company, no material mentioned how the product name originally came about. In Japan "sen-sen" means glistening, shiny or bright, but there is no documentation to indicate any connection between these meanings and the product.

The ingredients in Sen-Sen are imported from places like Bulgaria, France, Turkey, Greece, Italy and some almost inaccessible regions of Asia.

Some of the original equipment from the 1800s is still being used to make these little wafers. A production run of 2,000 pounds is made in small batches of 150 pounds each. The process starts by blending the "secret" ingredients in a vat-like mixer, run through an extruder, heated in an oven for 10 hours, and then the scored sheets are broken up into the familiar tiny squares. The bulk product is then packaged into freshness preserving packets.

We are excited to have found and are happy to offer this classic "breath perfume."


Notes: [1] The word, swain, as used in this original marketing copy from the early 20th Century, is an archaic noun used to describe a male lover or admirer. Specifically, it referred to a country youth. The roots of the word are ancient as well - from the Old English, swān which was a word for a swine shepherd and related to Old High German swein as well as Old Norse sveinn.