Schutter Family House on Chicago's North Shore Who Owns Schutter Johnson Candy Company

13 Iconic Candy Makers in Chicago

October 2, 2019

– By Tom Schaffner

Every twelvemonth, the "who's who" of candy makers visit the international "Sweets and Snacks Expo" held at Chicago's McCormick Place. Ever wonder why? Chicago has long-held the title of "Candy Majuscule of the World" so it's only fitting that the largest candy maker convention in the globe is held here on an annual basis.

Transportation, geography and a steady supply of immigrant workers in the mid-nineteen th century are what pb to Chicago's success as a candy maker and distributor of candy products worldwide. Access to runway lines and Great Lakes aircraft sped the flow of ingredients into the city and made the outbound distribution of finished candy products around the globe effective and efficient. Newly-arrived immigrants provided a steady stream of workers to fill up candy manufacturing jobs while others opened minor retail processed shops across the urban center featuring products fabricated from Quondam World family recipes.

Through the years in that location have been a number of innovative processed makers that accept called Chicago "home sweet home." The following is our list of great Chicago candy manufacturers and their contributions to the world of sweet treats.

Candy Makers in Chicago

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Visitor

Selling packs of chewing gum can pb to big business organisation and no one was more successful at information technology than the Wrigley Company, an iconic processed maker visitor that was founded in Chicago in 1891. Initially a soap and baking pulverization manufacturer, Wrigley offered purchasers glue every bit a premium to sell the company's primary products. Wrigley soon realized however that the gum was more pop than the other products so he retooled his manufactory then information technology could manufacture gum. In 1893, Wrigley introduced Juicy Fruit and Spearmint brands; Doublemint was introduced in 1914. Though the company was acquired by Mars, Inc. in 2008 for $23 billion, it still maintains a Global Innovation Center on Goose Island.

Blommer Chocolate Company

If you've always been in the Loop and smelled chocolate in the air, you lot've been properly introduced to Blommer, a West Loop chocolate candy maker that has been processing cocoa beans since 1939. A wholesaler, not a retailer, Blommer has become one of the largest contained candy makers and chocolate ingredient suppliers in N America, accounting for nearly 45 pct of cocoa beans processed in the U.S. Although the company's master business is supplying chocolate ingredients to other companies, the company maintains a small retail store next to the manufacturing plant that sells chocolates and various baking supplies.

Schutter-Johnson Visitor

This Chicago-based company'southward merits to fame was the introduction of Bit O' Dear in 1924, a honey-flavored taffy production with bits of almond embedded throughout. Similar taffy from other candy makers, Bit O'Beloved was a long-chewing candy. The brand is now owned by Pearson's Processed Company of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ferrara Pan

Founded in 1908 in the Little Italy neighborhood, the processed maker Ferrara is known for a wide range of candies, including Lemonheads, Jujyfruits, Chuckles, Atomic Fireballs, Red Hots and Boston Baked Beans. Today, Ferrara Candy has its headquarters in suburban Oak Brook Terrace and operates v manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and United mexican states. Ferrara also is the country's largest producer of candy canes, the largest seller of chat hearts ("Kiss Me," "Miss You,) etc. and produces a large portion of jelly beans that are consumed in the U.Due south.

Brach's

In 1904, Emil J. Brach opened "Brach'due south Palace of Sweets" on North Avenue almost Halsted and, at the time, sold mainly chocolate bars and an almond nougat confection. After Globe War II, the candy maker visitor began to focus on bulk and bagged candies and one fourth dimension had more i,700 product lines. Brach'due south Candy Corn has been a staple at Halloween and for many years has been the number 1 selling processed corn product in the U.Southward. In 2012, later a number of acquisitions by other companies, Brach's became part of the Ferrara Pan Processed Company.

Curtiss Candy Visitor

Though no longer headquartered in the Chicago area (Nestlé is currently the owner), the company's two almost famous products are manufactured in Franklin Park (near O'Hare) — Infant Ruth (1920) and Butterfinger (1936). Curtiss was founded in Chicago in 1916 past Otto Schnering who named the visitor using his mother'south maiden name because of anti-German language sentiment during World War I.

DeMet's Candy Visitor

Turtles brand processed was developed past Johnson's Candy Company in 1918 when a traveling salesman showed a candy to 1 of the dippers that looked similar a turtle. It was made with pecans and caramels so dipped in chocolate. In 1923, the candy maker'southward stores dropped the Johnson'south name and assumed the name DeMet's and reserved the trademarked Turtles proper name. Now owned past Yildiz Holding, the products are sold at a wide variety of retail stores, including Walgreens, CVS, Target and others.

Tootsie Roll Industries

Founded in New York in 1898, Tootsie Roll Industries has had its candy maker headquarters and main manufacturing facilities in Chicago since 1968. The company's eponymous production, the Tootsie Roll, derived its name from owner Leo Hirshfield's daughter, whose nickname was "Tootsie." Boosted treats are added to the production line or acquired over the years: Toosie Pops (1931); DOTS (1972); Junior Mints, Carbohydrate Daddy, Carbohydrate Babies and Charleston Chew (1994); and Dubble Bubble (2004).

Leaf Brands

Founded in 1920 past Chicago entrepreneur Sol Leaf, Foliage Candy Company was once the fourth largest candy company in N America, producing such products as Whoppers, Jolly Rancher, Milk Duds, Payday and Heath Bar. The company'southward U.S. sectionalization was sold to Hershey in 1996 and the remainder of the company left the U.S. for Europe. Today the company has been re-launched in the U.S. and it is selling a variety of food products, such as Hydrox cookies.

Fannie May

The first Fannie May candy store was opened at 11 N. LaSalle St. in 1920 by H. Teller Archibald, a prominent Chicago racehorse possessor. The business was successful — by 1935 it has grown to 48 retail shops in Illinois and surrounding Midwest states. Fundamental to the company's success was its collection of decades-erstwhile candy recipes that, over the years, it refused to update or modernize. In 1946, Fannie May created "Pixies," a blend of hand-poured caramel, roasted pecans and dark or milk chocolate. Pixies, its most popular product ever, helped propel Fannie May in 1992 to the position of largest candy retailer (most stores) in the U.s.a.. Today the visitor is part of Ferrara Candy.

The Hershey Company

No, the Hershey Bar was non invented in Chicago. None of the company's other products — Kisses, Syrup, Reese's, Kit Kat, Almond Joy (to name a few) — were launched or manufactured here, either. The candy makers have a very important connectedness to Chicago, yet. Subsequently Milton S. Hershey, founder of the visitor saw High german chocolate-making machines for the very first time at the 1893 World'due south Columbian Exposition in Chicago, he decided he wanted to become into the chocolate manufacturing concern. He purchased the machines and the residue, as they say, is history.

Mars, Inc.

Though not founded in Chicago, Mars, Inc. had its corporate headquarters hither for 30 years (1929-1959) and during that flow launched some of its most popular candy products, including Snickers, Three Musketeers and Thousand&M's. At present headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C. and still owned by members of the Mars family, the company still maintains manufacturing operations in Chicago and has grown to go one of the largest privately-held companies in the globe.

Marshall Field & Co.

Originally created at a Seattle-based department store chain, Frederick and Nelson'due south, in 1918, the recipe for Frango Mints became the holding of Marshall Field & Company stores in Chicago when it acquired the Washington company. In 1929, Field's moved production of Frango Mints to the 13 th floor of its enormous State Street flagship store where they were produced in huge melting pots for nearly 70 years. Now owned by Macy's department stores, Frango Mints are available in a wide diverseness of flavors and in different production lines. The products, all the same, are now manufactured in Ohio.

Y'all can meet some of these candy factories and businesses while on one of our many Chicago tours. Book a tour with Fifty Stop Tours today!

Holder of 2 journalism degrees, including a masters from Northwestern Academy, Tom Schaffner is a native of the Chicago surface area and has spent well-nigh 50 years as a writer, editor, publisher and professional communications consultant. He was too the founder, editor, and publisher of the Chicago File, as well equally the co-owner of L Stop Tours.

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