The Milky Way bar was created in 1920 by Frank C. Mars and was the first filled candy bar. Its taste was inspired by the chocolate-malt milkshake that was popular at the time.
On March 10, 1925, the name Milky Way became a trademark. In 1926, the Milky Way bar was introduced nationally in two flavors, chocolate and vanilla, each for a nickel. In June of 1932, the Milky Way bar was sold as a two piece bar, but just four years later, in 1936, the chocolate and vanilla flavors forever parted.
The vanilla Milky Way bar, which was covered in dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, was renamed the Forever Yours bar. The Forever Yours bar remained available until 1979 when it was discontinued. Due to popular demand, the Forever Yours bar returned in 1989 renamed as the Milky Way Dark bar. In 2000, it was renamed again, creating the now-popular Milky Way Midnight bar.
Also available in Europe are Milky Way Crispy Rolls, chocolate covered wafer rolls with a milk-cream filling.