Brach’s Candy

Founded by, German emigrant Emil J. Brach in 1904, Brach’s Candy quickly expanded from the initial small storefront shop on the corner of North Avenue and Towne Street in Chicago, IL, to become one of America's largest candy companies in a relatively brief period of time. Emil Brach was not alone in this endeavor, but was joined by his two sons, Edwin and Frank.

The Brach family has a definite recipe for success. The key to this success was to produce the highest quality candy, using the most up-to-date manufacturing and distribution processes available, and finally offer the customers a wide variety of products at a fair price. They built the business making and selling great-tasting, high-quality candies at a fair price.

The Brachs soon outgrew their first store and moved to Des Plaines Street on the west side of Chicago in May of 1906. Peanut and hard candies were added to the line of caramels that were already making a name for the fledgling candy company.

By 1909 the company's growth required a second move, this time to a new location at the corner of LaSalle and Illinois Avenue. The production line expanded to include coconut nougats and other hard candies. Throughout all of this growth, the rate of candy produced per pound rose phenomenally as the Brachs kept expansion of both facilities and employee numbers growing as well.

In 1913, the factory and offices moved to an even larger facility on East Illinois Street. Here Brach's added chocolate dipping and icing and cream dipping, and installed a marshmallow line and a department for panned candies. Quality was always foremost concern for the Brachs. The company backed its candy with a thirty-day money-back guarantee, and they were also the first candy company to have a state-of-the-art laboratory to inspect ingredients. In 1915 and 1916 they expanded this facility. Finally in 1923 Emil moved all operations to a new facility at the intersection of Kilpatrick, Ferdinand, and the Beltline Rail Road tracks.

They sold not only to department stores, but also to thousands of small corner stores and general merchandisers. Brach's was the first company to introduce barrels as a new and unique way to get additional display area in the stores. Next they introduced boxes with glass covers to keep the candy fresh. Impressive display cases involving candy stations, where the products could be mixed and weighed in the store, soon followed.

Today, Brach's remains a leader in the manufacture of staple (everyday) candy and seasonal candy; and the fastest-growing fruit snacks company in the U.S. Though no longer owned by the Brach’s family, the company still strives to maintain the quality and the reputation that made the brand a household name. This does not appear likely to change any time soon.

Chocolate Candy

Whenever someone says chocolate, it normally means chocolate candy. The connection is immediate. In America, chocolate remains the most popular candy, far surpassing all other types of candy being sold. Many of us have a great deal of passion for our chocolate. Often called “chocoholics,” we can attest to some obvious addictive properties in the candy bars and chocolate desserts we munch almost daily.

Today, there are so many varieties of chocolate candy available that it would be difficult to list them all but the form most often utilized by candy-makers is the candy bar. Names like Hershey’s, Nestle, Cadbury, are synonymous with chocolate candy. These companies have made billions of dollars creating their cocoa confections for nearly a century. This success is based on a simple formula: creating the best tasting chocolate candy possible. The heritage of many of these companies is founded on this desire to achieve optimum product quality and customer satisfaction.

Commensurate with the success of the big candy makers, is the popularity of making chocolate candy on the small scale. Small locally owned and operated candy stores make a living not only selling their chocolate candies but manufacturing them as well. Creating gourmet chocolate candy is big draw for these tiny candymakers who want to produce chocolate candy that incorporates elaborate decoration and supreme quality of ingredients.

If candy making isn’t a primary occupation, then making chocolate candy is a wholly different matter. Some of principles are the same. The methods used to create many of the candies are identically, albeit, they will be on a much smaller scale than either of the previously mentioned sources of chocolate candy. In these instances, it typically becomes a matter of hobby rather than sales. Yet with a marketing tool like the internet at one’s disposal, you can take what is currently a hobby and make an online candy business all its own.

It is no surprise that there are already several online chocolate candy businesses operating on the internet, capitalizing on the fact that many people are buying even their food online. It doesn’t seem like such a stretch to browse the candy store from your computer screen.

Cotton Candy Machine

A cotton candy machine uses sugar, a heated pan, centrifugal force and tiny holes to create the popular treat at carnivals and other events. To briefly explain the process: First, the operator of a cotton candy machine pours pure sugar and food coloring into a centralized plan. As the sugar melts, centrifugal force from this spinning pan forces threads of sugar through a mesh screen.

The hot sugar threads cool down in the open air and are flung against the round outside wall of the machine. Then, the operator then twirls a paper cone around the perimeter, causing individual sugar threads to stick to the cone and to each other. The result is a large pile of spun sugar originally called “Fairy Floss,” or more commonly known as cotton candy

The original idea behind cotton candy dates back nearly to the medieval times to a cooking method called 'spun sugar'. As sugar melted in a small container, the cooks would gather some of the hot syrup on a fork and fling it across a larger container. When the heated sugar cooled, light threads would form and chefs bundled them together to form a dessert. But this dessert was difficult and time consuming to make, a fact which made it impractical until the invention of the cotton candy machine.

The first commercial cotton candy machine was invented in 1897 by two candy makers from Tennessee named William Morrison and John C. Wharton. The machine used an electric heating element to melt crystallized sugar and a motor to force the threads through a mesh. Instead of using paper cones, the first batches of Fairy Floss were served in wooden boxes.

At the time, the treat itself was very expensive, selling for an exorbitant 25 cents a box. (a ticket for admission to the 1904 World's Fair itself was only 50 cents.) Despite the high costs, the new treat was a hit and its popularity grew. Yet, at times, this success was overshadowed by the tendency for the machines to breakdown.

Around 1949, improvements were made to the basic cotton candy machine. The Gold Medal Company developed a more reliable mechanism for heating and distributing the sugar which eliminated much of problems that earlier machines were suffering from. Consequently, the majoring of the cotton candy machines in use today at fairs, carnivals and charity events are still being manufactured by Gold Medal Products of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The demand for the availability of this machines have prompted rental stores to keep cotton candy machines on hand as well as the special “floss” sugar needed to make it for use at schools and fundraising events. Also, in recent years, a home version of the cotton candy machine has also become available through selected specialty stores though these models tend be less durable and subject to breakdown.

Gummi Bears Candy

Hans Riegel, a Bonn Germany-based candymaker, invented gummi bears (the first gummi candy) and gummi candy during the 1920s, with the bear-shaped candy debuting in 1922. Initially, he called his invention the ‘dancing bear" and named the company that manufactured the bears "Haribo,” which is an acronym for Hans Riegel Bonn. The confection became popular by the end of its first year. Later the company introduced its Gold-Bear product in the 1960s.

For many years, gummi bears were imported to America. American high school students were among the first Americans to know about the gummi bear. They learned about the candy through their German classes. In 1981, the Herman Goelitz Company (now Jelly Belly Candy Company) created the first American-made gummi bear. A year later, the Haribo Company brought their business to the U.S., and the candy was now easily accessible to Americans.

The success of gummi bears has spawned many gummi animals and objects: worms, frogs, hamburgers, cherries, cola bottles, sharks, apples, and oranges. Many generic brands of gummi bears are available on the market. Trolli is a well-known knockoff gummi candy manufacturer and was the first to introduce "gummi worms" in 1981.

How are gummi bears and other gummi candies made? The gummi manufacturing process is a long procedure that begins with artists for the manufacturer’s company.

Artists start with a character sketch and then carve it into tiny plaster molds. Then, machines duplicate the molds. The duplicates are run through a starch powder machine to produce starch powder mold pans.

In the factory, candy makers pour ingredients into large boilers. Some of the ingredients include gelatin, sugar and glucose syrup. Then the ingredients are heated together and constantly stirred by large paddles. Colors and flavorings are added to give the gummi snacks their distinct look and taste. Next, pipes transfer the mixture to the production area.

Nozzles are used to squeeze the mix out onto the starch pans where it is left to sit for three to five days. Afterwards, beeswax is added to make the candy shiny and less sticky. Finally, the gummi candies are transferred to a packaging machine and prepared for shipment.

Hershey’s Kisses

Hershey’s Kisses debuted on the candy scene in 1907. While it's not known exactly how Kisses got their name, one of the popular theories is that the candy was named for the sound or motion of the chocolate being deposited during the manufacturing process. While at first, the candies were individually hand-wrapped, the introduction of automation in the 1920s changed procedure forever.

This wrapping process has remained basically unchanged since it was developed in 1921. Current wrapping machines can package nearly 1,300 Kisses per minute. The familiar flag or plume that singles Hershey’s Kisses out was added to the packaging at this time as well then subsequently established as a registered trademark by company founder, Milton S. Hershey in 1924.

The shape and style of Hershey’s Kisses have not much in the last 80 years but this does not mean that there have not been small variations over the years. Many of these variations were produced in the early 1900s. Each one utilized different chocolate formulas and was offered in addition to the standard Hershey’s milk chocolate flavor.

Yet none of these variants have survived to the present. In fact, none has been produced since 1931. For those old enough to recall them or who might be a bit of the candy historian, names like Sweethearts, Silvertops, and Silverpoints may bring back fond memories.

There has been only one time in the entire history of their production that Hershey’s Kisses have been interrupted. The bite-size chocolates were not produced from 1942 to 1949 due to the rationing of silver foil during and after World War II. During the war, the ingredient mixing units in the Kisses molding department were utilized for tempering military ration bar chocolate paste. It is estimated that paste for more than 3 billion ration units was produced during this period.

Later, in 1962, the Kisses were wrapped in colored foil (other than silver) for the first time. Red, green and silver chocolates were available during the Christmas season in addition to the year-round silver-wrapped ones. In 1968, Kisses brand chocolates were introduced in pastel blue, pink and green foil for the Easter holiday. Hershey also introduced Valentine's Kisses with red and silver foil in 1986.

In September 1990, there was a major addition to the Hershey’s franchise when Kisses with almonds were successfully introduced. Then only three years later another addition to the Kisses line called Hershey’s Hugs which were mini Hershey’s Kisses combined with white chocolate.

There have been other limited edition flavor combinations as the candy company has sought to keep an edge with the competition. Yet, nothing can really compete with the enduring place that the Hershey’s Kiss has made for itself for nearly a hundred years.

Jolly Ranchers

The Jolly Rancher is a brand of candy that includes hard candy, fruit chews, and lollipops. It was originally produced by the Jolly Rancher Candy Company, a Colorado based company which was founded in 1949 by husband and wife Bill and Dorothy Harmsen.

The name Jolly Rancher was derived from idea of western hospitality. When the candy was first introduced, the candy company actually made various products including ice cream and chocolate. Once the Jolly Rancher candy’s popularity was apparent by the growing sales, the company then ceased making ice cream and then concentrated on hard candy.

In 1966, the Harmsens sold the Jolly Rancher Candy to Beatrice Foods but the couple continued to be involved in the day to day operations of the company. Seventeen years later, in 1983, the Finland-based company, Huhtamaki Oy, purchased the candy company and the right to Jolly Rancher Candy from the ailing Beatrice Foods who would later be bought out by Kohlbert Kravis Roberts & Co. in 1986 then later broken up by ConAgra Foods Inc. in 1990.

Huhtamaki Oy eventually sold Jolly Rancher to Hershey Foods Corporation in 1996 where it has been ever since. All production a the orignal Colorado location ceased after the acquisition by Hershey Foods.

While Jolly Rancher has introduced other kinds of candy in recent years, for many people their name is synonymous with the rectangular hard candies that made them famous.

The original assortment of flavors still marketed today includes grape, cherry, lemon, watermelon, and sour apple. They also sell two other assortments: "Tropical Blends", comprised of strawberry-banana, raspberry-pineapple, banana-pineapple, mandarin-tangerine, and lemon lime; and "Passion fruits", which includes fruit punch, strawberry, raspberry, peach, and orange. An intense cinnamon flavor called Fire is also available.

Beyond the Jolly Rancher candy and its variation is the other candies that wear the Jolly Rancher brand name. These include: Hard Candy, Sugar Free Hard Candy (1997) Jelly Beans (1997) Lollipops (1999) Fruit Chew Lollipops (2001) Fruit Chews Candy (2001) Screaming Sours Candy (2004) Bold Fruit Smoothie Jelly Beans (2005) Lollipops with Chile.

In addition to the traditional flavors introduced by the Harmsens, Hershey’s has added Fruit 'n' Sour flavors, Smoothie flavors, and holiday-themed candies.