Ferrara Candy Company

The Ferrara Candy Company is an American multi-national candy manufacturer, based in downtown 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 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 announced that they were going to acquire Ferrara, and the acquisition 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. This means Ferrara now distributes popular candies like Butterfinger, Crunch, Baby Ruth, Raisinets, Laffy Taffy, Spree, and Everlasting Gobstopper, which were formerly produced by Nestlé under the Willy Wonka brand.

Ferrara announced it was moving its world headquarters to Chicago in 2019, bringing many beloved candy brands together under one roof. Today, Ferrara continues to make and distribute a wide variety of candies enjoyed by people all over the world.

History

Salvatore Ferrara moved from Nola to New York in 1900 and 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, and employs around 6,000 people.

Timeline

The Ferrara Candy Company has a rich history that spans over 150 years. It all began in the 1860s when the Henry Heide Candy Company started its business. Over the decades, many famous candy brands were created, such as Brach's Candies in 1904 and Lemonheads in 1962.

In 2012, Ferrara Pan Candy Company merged with Farley's & Sathers Candy Company to form Ferrara Candy Company. Later, in 2017, the company was acquired by the Ferrero Group. Since then, Ferrara has continued to grow by acquiring other candy companies, including the Jelly Belly Candy Company in 2023 and Carambar & Co in 2025.

Products

Ferrara Candy Company offers 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.