Америкалық қант фабрикасы және Ferrero тобының иелігіндегі тарихы

American candy manufacturer
the originally unrelated Italian confectionery company that acquired Ferrara in 2017

The Ferrara Candy Company is an American candy manufacturer, based in Chicago, Illinois, and owned by the Ferrero Group. The company was formed from a 2012 merger of the Illinois based Ferrara Pan Candy Company and Minnesota based Farley's & Sathers Candy Company. Ferrara's product line includes the brands of Ferrara branded pan candy (such as Lemonheads, Atomic Fireballs, Red Hots, and Original Boston Baked Beans) and those of Farley's & Sathers (such as Brach's, Chuckles, Jujyfruits, and Now and Later). In November 2017, The Ferrero Group announced that they were going to acquire the company, which was finalized in December 2017. In 2018, Ferrara's parent company Ferrero SpA purchased Nestlé's U. S. candy line for $2.8 billion and handed responsibility for most products to Ferrara. Former Nestlé products now distributed in the U. S. by Ferrara include Butterfinger, Crunch, Baby Ruth, Raisinets, Nips, Laffy Taffy, and hard candy (such as Spree and Everlasting Gobstopper) formerly produced by Nestlé under the Willy Wonka brand. Two exceptions are Nestlé's Kit Kat and Rolo lines, which are licensed to the Hershey Company. Ferrara announced it was moving its world headquarters to Chicago in 2019.

The Ferrara family had been bakers in Italy. Salvatore Ferrara emigrated from Nola to New York in 1900. In 1908, he opened a bakery at 772 W. Taylor, in the heart of Chicago's "Little Italy" neighborhood. He sold candy coated almonds known as "confetti" (or Jordan almonds), a popular treat at Italian weddings. They built a two story brick building at 2200 W. Taylor and began producing a variety of panned candies. Ferrara Candy is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It operates seven manufacturing plants in the U. S. and Mexico, as well as distribution centers around the United States. The company sells 92% of all mellowcremes in the U. S.; it is the largest producer of candy canes, the largest seller of conversation hearts and produces a large portion of the jelly beans that are consumed in the United States. The company has 21 starch moguls, of 40 in the U. S. as a whole. The company has between 700 and 800 pans operating at any given time. 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. The company employs approximately 6,000 people.

Atomic Fireball: A round, cinnamon flavored hard candy invented by Nello Ferrara (1918–2012) in 1954. They are a form of jawbreaker. The outer layers of the candy are a bright red color, while the interior layers are white. Atomic Fireballs have been adopted by Flight Controllers in NASA's Mission Control as the "Console Candy of Choice". Black Forest: A brand of fruit juice snacks and treats in various shapes; Gummy Bears, Gummy Worms and other varieties. Bobs Candies: Soft mints and sticks, candy canes and mint "lumps". Boston Baked Beans: A sugar coated peanut candy. Brach's: A candy and sweets brand that produces and has invented many iconic candies, including candy corn, Conversation Hearts, Jelly Bird Eggs, Star Brite Mints, Royals, Bridge Mix, malted milk balls, Double Dipped Peanuts and others. Chuckles: A soft jelly candy, covered in sugar in five original colors (red, orange, yellow, green and black). They are now made in a number of varieties and seasonal selections. Fruit Stripe: A fruit flavored chewing gum created in the 1960s. Also comes in a bubble gum variety. Jaw Busters: The original 1919 jawbreaker. As they dissolve, they change color and flavor with each of the five layers. Jelly Belly: gourmet jelly beans. Jujyfruits: Small, chewy, fruit flavored candies that come in various fruit shapes and flavors such as raspberry, orange, lemon, lime, and anise. Also available are Jujubes, which are a firmer candy dating back to 1920 in the traditional flavors of lemon, lime, violet, cherry and lilac. Laffy Taffy: Rectangular taffy named for the jokes which are included on each wrapper. Flavors include banana, strawberry, sour apple, cherry and grape. Tangy Taffy, a similar product, was previously purchased by Nestle and is now marketed under the Laffy Taffy brand. Lemonhead: Introduced in 1962, Lemonheads are a round, lemon flavored candy consisting of a sweet coating, soft sour shell, and a hard candy core. Other varieties include Appleheads, Grapeheads and Chewy Lemonheads & Friends varieties. Nerds: Introduced in 1983, Nerds are a little pebble like candy with a crunch, usually contain two flavors per box, and each flavor has a separate compartment and opening. Larger packages may contain various colors—sometimes referred to as Rainbow Nerds. Now and Later: Bite sized squares of taffy in 19 different fruit flavors. They come in Original, Chewy and Splits varieties and are packaged in both multi pieced bars and assorted jars. Rain Blo: Bubble gumballs where the color on the outside matches the flavor on the inside. Red Hots: A small cinnamon flavored candy, usually spicy, created and trademarked by the Ferrara Pan Candy Company in the 1930s. Super Bubble: Individually wrapped bubble gum first introduced in 1946 in original, grape, apple and watermelon flavors. Trolli (U. S.): Gummy candies that are both sour and sweet in unusual shapes.