Ferrara Candy Company

The Ferrara Candy Company is an American multi-national candy maker, based in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by the Ferrero Group. The company started in 2012 when two candy companies joined together: the Ferrara Pan Candy Company from Illinois and the Farley's & Sathers Candy Company from Minnesota.

Ferrara makes many popular candies such as Lemonheads, Atomic Fireballs, Red Hots, Original Boston Baked Beans, Brach's, Chuckles, Jujyfruits, and Now and Later.

In November 2017, The Ferrero Group said they would buy Ferrara, and the purchase finished in December 2017. In 2018, Ferrara's parent company Ferrero SpA bought Nestlé's U.S. candy line. Now Ferrara distributes popular candies like Butterfinger, Crunch, Baby Ruth, Raisinets, Laffy Taffy, Spree, and Everlasting Gobstopper. These were made by Nestlé under the Willy Wonka brand.

Ferrara moved its world headquarters to Chicago in 2019. Today, Ferrara makes and sells many candies loved by people all over the world.

History

Salvatore Ferrara moved from Nola to New York in 1900. He later opened a bakery in Chicago with his brother-in-law, Salvatore "Sal" Lezza. They sold special candy-coated almonds called "confetti" or Jordan almonds, which were popular at Italian weddings. Lezza taught Ferrara how to make pan candy, a type of candy coated in sugar.

In 2012, Ferrara Candy Company was formed when Ferrara Pan Candy Company merged with Farley's & Sathers Candy Company. The new company was led by Salvatore Ferrara II. Today, Ferrara Candy is based in Chicago, Illinois, and has factories in the U.S. and Mexico. The company makes many popular candies, including mellowcremes, candy canes, conversation hearts, and jelly beans.

Timeline

The Ferrara Candy Company has a long history of more than 150 years. It started in the 1860s when the Henry Heide Candy Company began. Over the years, many famous candy brands were made, such as Brach's Candies in 1904 and Lemonheads in 1962.

In 2012, Ferrara Pan Candy Company joined with Farley's & Sathers Candy Company to become Ferrara Candy Company. In 2017, the company was bought by the Ferrero Group. Since then, Ferrara has kept growing by buying other candy companies, including the Jelly Belly Candy Company in 2023 and Carambar & Co in 2025.

Products

Ferrara Candy Company makes many fun and tasty treats! Some of their popular candies include Atomic Fireball, a cinnamon-flavored hard candy, and Black Forest, which has fruity gummy snacks like Gummy Bears and Gummy Worms. They also make Bobs Candies, soft mints and candy canes, and Brach's, famous for candy corn and Conversation Hearts.

Other favorite candies are Chuckles, soft jelly candies in colorful sugar coatings, and Fruit Stripe, fruit-flavored chewing gum. There’s also Jelly Belly gourmet jelly beans, Jujyfruits chewy fruit-flavored candies, and Laffy Taffy rectangular taffy with jokes on the wrappers. Lemonhead lemon-flavored candies and Nerds pebble-like candies are also big hits, along with Now and Later bite-sized taffy squares and Rain-Blo bubble gumballs that match color to flavor.