[5] Some time between the 1980s and late 1990s, Ferrara Pan brought all of their fruit-flavored candies under a consistent naming convention: Lemonheads, Grapeheads (formerly Alexander the Grape), Cherryheads (formerly Cherry Chan/Cherry Clan) and Appleheads (formerly Johnny Apple Treats).

[6] Being the product of a Chicago company, Ferrara Pan was a prominent sponsor of The Bozo Show on WGN-TV (along with its national superstation feed), with Lemonhead specifically promoted, and a gift package of various Ferrara Pan candies often being given as a close-bucket prize during the "Grand Prize Game".

The commercials followed a similar pattern and featured a children's sports team; the player who made a mistake would be labeled the "lemonhead".

[citation needed] Ferrara Candy Company came under fire in 2017 because of their Lemonheads due to the opaque packaging.

The Ferrara Candy Company settled for $2.5 million with the plaintiff and agreed to provide a cash payment for those who were impacted and to modify the quality control procedure.

[9] Lemonheads are sometimes recommended by pregnant women and parenting bloggers for the relief of nausea commonly caused by morning sickness during pregnancy.