Candy brands from Ferrara Candy Company.
There is a great deal of things in America that are awesome…and most of those awesome things come from Chicago. Finding out a lot of the iconic candies like Lemonheads, Nerds, Laffy Taffy, and Jelly Belly to name a few, have their roots right here in Chicago. That sample batch of candies come the Ferrara Candy Company – whose called Chicago home since its inception. Ferrara considers themselves as the “hometown team” and they are a big player in the confectionery industry, but not to be out done by the other big names in the confectionery industry who are also founded and established in Chicago; companies like Mars-Wrigley Confectionery, Mondelēz International, and Tootsie Roll Industries.
Ferrara Candy Company located at 7301 Harrison St, Forest Park. |
Ferrara Candy Company located at 3000 Washington Blvd #1946, Bellwood. |
Salvatore Ferrara emigrated from Nola, Italy to New York in 1900. The Ferrara family were bakers back home in Italy. In 1908, Salvatore opened a bakery in Chicago’s “Little Italy” neighborhood located at 772 W. Taylor. A popular treat at Italian weddings was a candy-coated almonds known as “confetti” (or Jordan almonds), a popular treat sold in Salvatore’s shop. When candy sales were outpacing pastries sales, Ferrara partnered with his two brothers-in-law, Salvatore Buffardi and Anello Pagano.
They began producing a variety of panned candies in their newly constructed two-story brick building located at 2200 W. Taylor. The second floor was dedicated to the rotating kettles that fashioned the pan candy, with all the machines being driven by a massive wheel. There was a hole in the floor where the candy was dropped below to the shipping department as they waited for the finished product.
The private equity firm Catterton Partners, owner of Farley’s & Sathers Candy Company, organized the 2012 deal where the well-established candymaker would merge with the Ferrara Candy Company. In November 2017, The Ferrero Group announced they were going to acquire the company, which was finalized in December 2017. In 2018, Ferrara’s parent company The Ferrero Group purchased Nestlé’s U.S. candy line for $2.8 billion and gave Ferrara the responsibility for most of Nestlé’s former candies. Former Nestlé products now distributed in the U.S. by Ferrara include Butterfinger, Crunch, Baby Ruth, Raisinets, Nips, Laffy Taffy, and hard candies like Spree and Everlasting Gobstopper – who formerly produced by Nestlé under the Willy Wonka brand.
Ferrara Candy Company is headquartered in Chicago. Ferrara operates seven manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as distribution centers around the country. On the Ferrara website, it states that it produces 1 million pounds of gummy candy per week in four manufacturing plants, two in the U.S. and two in Mexico. Ferrara is still going strong and isn’t showing signs it’s slowing down. If you’re ever near one of their factories, you will know when you’re close by when the sweet aroma hits your nose with the smell of sugar in the air.
For more information about Ferrara Candy Company, please visit: Ferrara.com.
