Russell Stover Candies facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Chocolate confections |
| Founded | 1923 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Founders | Russell William Stover Clara Stover |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Number of locations
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Manufacturing - Iola, Kansas; Abilene, Kansas; Corsicana, Texas |
| Products | Chocolate Confections |
| Owner | Lindt & Sprüngli |
| Parent | Lindt & Sprüngli |
| Subsidiaries | Whitman's and Pangburn's Chocolates |
Russell Stover Chocolates, Inc., founded by Russell Stover, an American chemist and entrepreneur, and his wife Clara Stover in 1923, is an American supplier of candy, chocolate, and confections. The corporate headquarters are in Kansas City, Missouri.
In July 2014 the company was acquired by the Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli for $1.6 billion.The company operates as an independent subsidiary and still based in Kansas City.
History
Russell Stover Candies did not start with candy. In 1921, Russell Stover and his partner at the time, Iowa schoolteacher Christian Kent Nelson, created a chocolate-dipped ice cream sandwich. At a dinner party, Russell's wife Clara Stover suggested calling it an Eskimo Pie. The product was a success for them, and they began licensing manufacturers to produce it.
As other companies soon began to release similar chocolate-dipped ice cream products, Russell Stover was nearly forced out of business. The Stovers sold their share of the company for $25,000 and moved to Denver, Colorado. In 1923, Russell and Clara created a new company from their home, packaging and selling boxed chocolates. They were originally named "Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies". However, 20 years later, in 1943, it was renamed Russell Stover Candies.
Expansion
Louis Ward and a partner bought the company $7.5 million in 1960. He served as the company's chairman and president until 1993, when he retired after suffering a stroke. His sons, Scott H. and Thomas Ward, took over the business. The company expanded its chocolate brands by acquiring Whitman's that year and Pangburn's in 1999.
Acquisition by Lindt & Sprüngli and restructuring
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt bought Russell Stover Chocolates from the Ward family on July 14, 2014. Integrating Russell Stover Chocolates into Lindt group resulted in a structural reorganization of the company; this included tripling its marketing team and shifting focus away from seasonal products.
Attention was also given to developing its offering of sugar-free products. Stevia, a natural sweetener, replaced the artificial sweetener sucralose by 2019, and the packaging was redesigned to attract a wider audience, hoping to reverse a three-year trend of declining sales. In 2020, Russell Stover Chocolates was the top sugar-free chocolate company in the United States.
Spurred by strong sales in 2019, Russell Stover Chocolates announced plans to expand its Iola, Kansas, Abilene, Kansas, and Corsicana, Texas facilities. It also announced that its facility in Montrose, Colorado and several retail stores and distribution centers across the US would close in 2021.
