Pearson's Candy Company facts for kids
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| Private company | |
| Industry | Confectionery/Chocolate |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Founder | P. Edward Pearson |
| Headquarters | |
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Key people
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Dan Lagermeier, CEO |
| Products | See products section |
| Revenue | $41,000,000 |
| Owner | Spell Capital |
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Number of employees
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145 |
Pearson's Candy Company makes yummy chocolate and other sweet treats! This American company is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It started in 1909 by selling candies made by others. But by 1912, Pearson's began making its own delicious products.
The company was first owned by a family. Over the years, Pearson's changed owners and added new candies. Today, Pearson's makes its candies in a big factory in Saint Paul. You can find their Mint Patties and Salted Nut Roll all over the country. Their Nut Goodie and Bun Bars are popular in the Midwest. Pearson's is one of the biggest candy companies in North America!
Contents
History of Pearson's Candy
How Pearson's Started
Pearson's Candy Company was started in 1909 by P. Edward Pearson and his brothers, John and Oscar. Later, two more brothers, Waldemar and C. Fritz, joined them. They first sold candies from other companies. But soon, the brothers realized it would be better to make their own. So, in 1912, they created their very first candy, the Nut Goodie.
Pearson's grew bigger and even made candies for other famous companies. In 1933, during a tough time called The Great Depression, Pearson's introduced the Salted Nut Roll. This candy was a huge hit! Other companies tried to copy it. To make their candy special, Pearson's briefly changed its name to the Choo Choo Bar. But people liked the original name better, so it became the Salted Nut Roll again, with the Pearson's logo clearly shown.
After World War II, the Pearson brothers stopped selling other companies' candies. They focused only on making their own. In 1951, Pearson's bought another company called Trudeau Candy Company. This added Mint Patties and the Seven Up bar to Pearson's candies. In 1959, the company moved to its current factory. Pearson's also bought Sperry Candy Company in 1962, which made the Chicken Dinner Bar. However, Pearson's sold Sperry Candy a few years later.
Changes in Ownership
The Pearson family sold the company in 1968 to a large company from New York. In 1979, Pearson's was sold again to another candy group. During this time, sales went down. Some candies, like the Nut Goodie, even had their recipe changed or their wrapper redesigned. This made some fans unhappy.
In 1985, Larry Hassler and Judith Johnston bought the company. They brought back the Nut Goodie's original wrapper and recipe. Even though Pearson's lost a big contract to make granola bars for another company, they became successful again by 1992. In 1998, Pearson's bought the rights to the Bun Bar. They also introduced a new candy called Flurries in 2004.
In 2011, a company called Brynwood Partners bought Pearson's. Then, in 2018, they sold Pearson's Candy to Spell Capital, a company from Minneapolis.
Pearson's Candy Products
Candies You Can Buy Today
The Salted Nut Roll is Pearson's top-selling candy. Together with Mint Patties, they make up most of the company's sales. Mint Patties are sold everywhere in the country. Salted Nut Rolls are available in many stores across the U.S. Pearson's is one of the biggest candy companies in North America.
Every month, Pearson's uses a lot of ingredients! They use 200 tons of peanuts, 400 tons of sugar, 100 tons of chocolate, and 350 tons of corn syrup. All these candies are made in their large factory, which is about 120,000 square feet. They have five different production lines to make all the treats.
Here are some of the candies Pearson's makes today:
| Product | First Made | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Bun Bars | 1998 | A candy with a maple, vanilla, or caramel center, covered in chocolate and peanuts. |
| Mint Patties | 1951 | A cool, mint-flavored patty covered in dark chocolate. |
| Nut Goodie | 1912 | A cluster of candy with a maple-flavored center, covered in chocolate and peanuts. |
| Salted Nut Roll | 1933 | A roll of soft nougat covered with caramel and salted peanuts. |
Candies No Longer Made
Seven Up Bar
The Seven Up Bar was a special candy bar with seven different chocolate "pillows." Each pillow had a different flavor inside! The flavors changed over time, but they included things like brazil nut, buttercream, butterscotch, caramel, cherry, coconut, fudge, mint, nougat, and orange. This bar was expensive to make. Also, there were issues with its name because of a soda company called Seven Up. So, the candy bar was stopped in 1979.
Chicken Dinner Bar
The Chicken Dinner Bar was made by the Sperry Candy Company. Pearson's bought Sperry Candy in 1962. This candy bar was first made during The Great Depression. It was named after President Herbert Hoover's promise of "a chicken in every pot." But don't worry, the bar did not have any chicken in it! It was actually a chocolate-covered nut roll. Pearson's stopped making this bar after they bought the company. Old TV commercials for the bar used to sing "Chick - Chick - Chick - Chick - Chicken Dinner" like a rooster crowing!
