Brach’s Around the (Time) Clock

1904 - Emil J. Brach invested $1,000 into the opening “Brach’s Palace of Sweets,” a candy store in Chicago, Illinois. In the years leading up to this decision to open a store, Brach had already become a successful candy salesman. When the company he worked for ultimately failed, he decided to find sweet success on his own.
1911 - Brach’s was producing 50,000 lbs of candy per week. This level of production allowed the company to sell the treats at a much lower price than their competitors. Ironically, they were the first to break the penny candy barrier by offering wrapped caramel squares for a whopping $.05!
1913 - Always at the forefront of quality, Brach’s became the first candy factory with a food safety laboratory. The lab allowed the company to test ingredients and samples to ensure purity and consumer safety.
1921 - As demand boomed, the company invested $5 million into creating a new factory, big enough to keep up with the high demand.
1939 - The fulfillment arm of CandyFavortes.com, occupied a unique role in Brach’s history as our founder, Ernest Prince, traded sugar rations in exchange for access to the product. McKeesport Candy Co. was one of Brach’s first wholesale customers, and this unique wartime arrangement helped both companies prosper during the war years.
1948 - Disaster strikes when a plant explosion killed 11 employees and injured 18. The blast occurred from a spark that ignited corn starch. Using state of the art production technology, Brach’s rebuilt the plant and soon became the largest candy manufacturer in the world employing over 4500 employees!
1958 - Success continued with the debut of the Pick-A-Mix. With this concept, Brach’s allowed customers to select from a variety of candies and pay one price per pound. It revolutionized candy purchasing and helped make bulk candy a more regular fixture of the grocery store experience.
1966 - Frank Brach, one of Emil Brach’s sons, put the company up for sale. At 75 years old, he could no longer keep up with it on his own and realized that growth would occur if they could consolidate with a larger company. American Home Products Corporation purchased Brach’s, and thus ended 62 years of familial ownership
1987 - Jacobs Suchard purchased Brach's from American Home products
1988 - In an effort to reinvent the brand, a new President, Hartmut Felgen, was brought in from Germany as well as all the new upper management. Tom Snyder, from Nestle, was named Vice President of Sales and he replaced old middle management employees with new employees from Nestle and Procter & Gamble. The company headquarters were moved to Oak Brook, IL, and 42% of employees were eliminated.
1990 - Phillip Morris purchased Jacob Suchard but did not purchase Brach's due to declining market share and lack of profitability.
1993 - Instability reigned, with three different C.E.Os and a high rate of turnover and dismissals. The massive change would be necessary to ensure the survival of one of America’s oldest candy brands.
1994 - Bertram Johnson also purchased Brock Candy Company of Chattanooga and merged the two companies, eventually changing the company name to Brach’s Confections. This unique merger created consumer brand confusion but gave the company a broader range of products and stability. Unfortunately, profits continued to decline.
2003 - Barry Callebaut AG purchased the withering Brach’s Confections, assuming $16 million in debt and paying a symbolic $1 for the company. Callebaut believed the acquisition would allow it to strengthen channels of distribution within the U.S, which, as the CEO explained, was "the largest single consumer market." With this acquisition, Callebaut was committed to funding restructuring efforts for the next five years. The company also moved most candy production to Mexico, leaving the once-revered candy plant abandoned. Still considered one of the most famous American brands, many loyal customers were not happy about outsourcing manufacturing and thus started a trend in the industry that continues.
2007 - Barry Callebaut sold Brach’s Confections to Farley's & Sathers Candy Company. Callebaut explained it was selling the line—3/4 of which was sugar candy--to focus solely on chocolate. At the time of the sale, Brach’s had factories in Winona, MN, Chattanooga, TN, and Vernell, Mexico. Farley’s & Sather’s viewed the acquisition as a benefit, allowing it to increase its number of available brands as well as strengthen its manufacturing capacity. After another merger, Farley’s & Sathers became the Ferrera Candy Company. Additionally, part of the Brach’s plant was blown up for a special effects scene in the Batman movie, The Dark Knight.

Edited September 2020