Our History The Allan Candy Company Timeline
The Allan Candy Company Timeline
1931
Allan Candy was founded when Allan Vertlieb opened up a retail storefront inside his own home, at the corner of York & Bay in Hamilton, Ontario. Allan installed candy cooker kettles in his kitchen for the production of lollipops. Neighbourhood children would come up to his front door to purchase these candy pops. Choose another year.
With business expanding, Allan moved the Allan Candy operations to the northwest corner of Canon St. & Catherine St. in Hamilton. This initial commercial location, which still stands today, was approx. 8,000sq. ft. and was able to produce approximately 50,000kg of hard candy annually. Allan Candy begins providing high-quality, artisanal hard candy, toffees, candy coated popcorn and lollipops to a range of retailers and distribution channels, with extensive focus on ‘C’ stores or the convenience/variety store channel. Allan hires Mr. Zoltan Freeman, a recent Hungarian immigrant to work in Operations, as well as 15 other employees to increase production and meet growing demand for Allan products. Choose another year.
Allan sees continued potential to develop and grow the Allan Candy business. Production volumes continue to grow, necessitating a further expansion of capacity. Manufacturing and Operations were moved to Aldershot in Burlington, to a dedicated facility. Allan begins its tradition of commitment to its employees by offering shuttle bus services from Hamilton to the Aldershot facility for Allan employees. Allan Candy establishes a distribution center for finished goods in Waterdown, Ontario. Choose another year.
Allan Vertlieb had brought his vision to life, and was watching it grow and prosper. With his personal health a growing concern, Allan took on two investors to assist with running the Allan Candy business. Choose another year.
After challenging years during World War II, Allan Candy’s investors decide to leave the business. Shares of Allan Candy are sold to Mr. Zoltan Freeman and Mr. Lewis Sherman, a Boston-based sales professional with a history of successfully growing consumer packaged goods businesses. Allan Vertlieb remained in the business, although reduced his involvement in day-to-day operations. Allan Candy produces it first Hollow Bunny seasonal chocolate novelty. Choose another year.
During a routine sales call with a customer, Mr. Sherman noticed a hard candy piece on a customer's desk. The customer noted that it was a sugar ‘cane’ produced by Dominion Candy, a confectionery manufacturer from Toronto. Mr. Sherman is impressed with the candy ‘cane’ and he sees the potential to develop a similar candy cane idea at Allan Candy. Allan Candy begins manufacturing candy canes under the Allan brand, by manually kneading the candy mass, batch rolling the mass, and cutting and forming (‘crooking’) the canes by hand. Choose another year.
Allan Candy wins its first customer order for candy canes, with a large order from the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company Ltd. (A&P) of 1,000 cases of canes. Allan Candy expands production, adding a 3rd shift to meet demand for its new line of candy canes. Allan Candy annual revenues exceed $2M. Allan Candy launches a range of everyday chocolate items for the convenience store trade. Choose another year.
Recognizing the growing interest and popularity in both red and black licorice, Mr. Sherman begins searching for a partner to supply Allan Candy with Licorice. Allan Candy begins sourcing licorice from a Swedish supplier, Malaco, and selling it in the Canadian market. Demand for Allan licorice begins to grow steadily. Choose another year.
Outgrowing the Aldershot manufacturing space, Allan Candy moves to 356 Emerald Street in Hamilton. Occupancy in this facility was shared with the Carton and Die Craft Company, and Crown Printing, who were both suppliers to Allan of boxes and labels. Being visionary, Allan Candy is ahead of its time with this co-location, in that it allows for vertical integration of its supply chain. Choose another year.
The original owner and visionary behind Allan Candy, Allan Vertlieb passed away. Mr. Lewis Sherman and Mr. Zoltan Freeman purchase the remaining shares in Allan Candy. Choose another year.
Allan Candy’s licorice business in Canada is booming, and Mr. Freeman and Mr. Sherman recognize an opportunity to initiate local production of licorice. Allan Candy enters into a partnership arrangement with Malaco, creating a new company called M&A (Malaco and Allan). Under this joint venture, Allan Candy owns 49% of M&A, and Allan gains access to licorice production techniques as well as an emerging range of soft & chewy candy products, which are growing in popularity in Europe. Allan Candy commences local production of licorice products. Choose another year.
Allan Candy’s seasonal novelty chocolate business continues to grow aggressively, and Allan Candy invests heavily in automation both solid and hollow moulding technologies. This begins an aggressive capital expenditure program across chocolate technologies that positions Allan Candy as the leader in seasonal novelty chocolate. Choose another year.
Allan Candy invests in its first automated candy cane machine. This equipment, which was purchased from a manufacturer in Poughkeepsie, New York, serves as the foundation for Allan Candy’s growing candy cane business. Being the consummate entrepreneurs, Mr. Freeman and Mr. Sherman begin the in-house development of Allan Candy’s own equipment for forming and wrapping candy canes. Choose another year.
Ian Marks, another visionary confectionery leader, pursues the continued global expansion of his family’s confectionery firm Trebor PLC, a UK-based confectionery company. Trebor, in partnership with other investors, builds a ‘green-field’ confectionery manufacturing facility in Granby, Quebec, in the heart of the beautiful Eastern Townships. This site is intended to manufacture hard candy, candy kisses, mints and toffees, under the Trebor name for the Quebec and Ontario markets. Choose another year.
With the Granby manufacturing facility as the focal point, Trebor Canada Inc., begins a series of aggressive acquisitions, aimed at growing its hard candy, toffee and mints businesses. Trebor acquires Jean & Charles, Belanger and Watson Mints, and creates the ‘Pick ‘n Mix’ concept for retail. This acquisition strategy continues on through for the next 10 years with the addition of select brands, and products, culminating in the acquisitions of Paramount Candies and Penny Jane. Choose another year.
Allan Candy purchases the Toronto-based Dominion Candy Company Ltd., and consolidates manufacturing operations for both candy canes and seasonal novelty chocolate into its Hamilton facility. Choose another year.
Cadbury Schweppes PLC purchases Trebor Bassett and formed the UK confectionery subsidiary, Cadbury Trebor Bassett. The Trebor manufacturing facility in Granby is included in that transaction and continues to operate as Trebor Canada. The Trebor Canada business continues to grow and expand the plant size and capacity in Granby. Choose another year.
Allan Candy, in it’s continue desire to grow into the US market, acquires Bortz Chocolate Inc., in Reading, Pennsylvania. Bortz, with a long history dating back over 75 years, was a leader in the US market for seasonal novelty chocolate and everyday bulk chocolate (foil wrapped balls, eggs etc.). Allan acquires 3 manufacturing facilities in the transaction in the Reading, PA area. The Bortz acquisition is the foundation for Allan Candy’s aggressive expansion into the US seasonal chocolate market. Allan Candy begins the integration of Bortz, and the consolidation of manufacturing operations. Choose another year.
Mr. Freeman sells Allan Candy to Cadbury Chocolate Canada, part of the global Cadbury Schweppes PLC group. Cadbury merges the Trebor and Allan Candy business to become Trebor Allan Inc., which continues to operate independently, focussed on the soft and chewy candy, hard candy, mints, candy canes and seasonal novelty businesses. Choose another year.
Trebor Allan Inc., is merged with Cadbury Chocolate Canada to form Cadbury Trebor Allan Inc. (CTAI). CTAI is Canada’s first confectionery company with a breadth of product portfolio to satisfy all customers’ categories and needs. Choose another year.
As part of the global transaction, Cadbury Trebor Allan acquired Adams Confectionery from Pfizer Inc., and in Canada is renamed Cadbury Adams Canada Inc. Choose another year.
On June 4th, 2007, Cadbury Adams Canada Inc., sells the Allan Candy business to ReichmannHauer Capital Partners where it becomes part of a new company called The Allan Candy Company Limited. Choose another year.
The Allan Candy Company Limited begins an aggressive transformation initiative to fully separate itself from Cadbury Adams Canada Inc., and to re-establish itself as a leading independent confectionery company. A new Executive Management Team is created, and the transformation begins. The Allan Candy Company Limited begins investing in its core businesses, and expanding capacity and capabilities organization-wide. Allan Candy introduces innovative products and packaging to the Canadian and US markets. Choose another year.
More to come. Choose another year.
More to come. Choose another year.
The Allan Candy Story continues, please visit our Newsroom for the latest updates on what is new and happening at The Allan Candy Company Limited!