History of Kerr’s Candy

Kerr's, a long-standing confectionery company in Canada, is renowned for its production of traditional Canadian candy. The company was established in 1895 by Edward and Albert Kerr, two Scottish brothers who immigrated to Canada. Initially, they opened a prosperous candy shop and bakery in St. Thomas, Ontario. After three years, the Kerr brothers sold the bakery and relocated their business to Brantford, Ontario, just outside Hamilton.

In Brantford, the Kerrs expanded their operations and set up six confectionery factories, where they manufactured a wide range of candies and chocolates. In 1904, Kerr's began marketing their first foil-wrapped candies and later moved their headquarters to Toronto, aiming to be closer to their primary suppliers. It was during this time that they also started producing foil-wrapped chocolate bar confections.

During World War II, Kerr's introduced their own version of molasses candy. Additionally, the company achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first in North America to create "Light No Sugar Added" candy using the polydextrose and sucralose recipe. Furthermore, Kerr's was among the pioneers in Canada to produce lollipops.

While Kerr's expanded its presence globally in 1907, it eventually withdrew from the US market in 1957. Nevertheless, the company has been successfully selling its toffees, mints, and lollipops within Canada for over a century. By the 1960s, Kerr's Candy had phased out the sale of chocolates, focusing on their expertise: candies with crinkling wrappers.

For more than 125 years, Kerr's Candy has delighted Canadians with a variety of beloved treats, including Lollipops, Caramels, Butterscotch, Scotch Mints, Striped Mints, Toffee, Fruit Drops, and charming little strawberry candies.
History of Kerr’s Candy

History of Canada Dry Ginger Ale

It all started with ginger beer, which originated in England in the 1800s. Eventually the popularity spread across the pond and Americans were also enjoying this refreshing beverage. John McLaughlin (1866-1914), a Canadian pharmacist, invented the modern Canada Dry version of Ginger Ale in 1907.

John James McLaughlin, was an 1885 graduate, with a gold medal, of the University of Toronto College of Pharmacy. He was trained as both a pharmacist and a chemist. Like so many pharmacists of the late 19th and the early 20th century.

McLaughlin was interested in flavored soda waters. McLaughlin began making his own soda drink recipes and created McLaughlin Belfast Style Ginger Ale in 1890.He experimented with various mixtures that were added to his carbonated soda water made from a mixture of baking soda, vinegar and water.

His early flavors were cream soda, ginger beer, sarsaparilla and lemon sour. McLaughlin’s company also made and imported mineral waters, carbonated beverages, syrups, creams, cordials, extracts, fountain fruits, ice-cream machinery, and soda fountain supplies.

After years of experimenting, McLaughlin perfected his formula for Canada Dry in 1904. After visiting Europe to study its beverage industry, on September 27th 1890 McLaughlin established J.J. McLaughlin Limited Manufacturing Chemists in Toronto.The company manufactured and sold soda fountain products and equipment to drugstores in Ontario and western Canada, including lines of distilled waters and fruit juices.

Despite competition – there were about 12 producers in the city in 1891 – the business grew enough to warrant a move to larger premises, at Queen and Victoria streets.

In 1900 he produced a beverage that was dark in color with a strong ginger flavor and called it “

McLaughlin Belfast Style Ginger Ale.”

In 1905: Jack McLaughlin changed the name for the last time and began to market his pale and dry ginger ale as “Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale.” It gained popularity very quickly and McLaughlin had to open a plant in Manhattan to provide for his customers in New York. Thus beginning the massive expansion of his company.

To facilitate expansion, McLaughlin opened shops to manufacture the metal, wooden, and marble equipment needed to carbonate, blend, and serve soft drinks in drugstores, restaurants, and department stores and to make other soda parlour essentials such as ice-cream. Canada Dry was sold to P.D. Saylor and Associates in December 1923 for $1 million. Merged into the newly formed Norton Simon Inc. in 1968, it was sold to the Dr Pepper Company in 1982.
History of Canada Dry Ginger Ale

History of Carling brewery

It was in the year 1818 that a 21-year old Yorkshire farmer named Thomas Carling arrived in Upper Canada to establish a farm. He served as a volunteer in the 1837 Rebellion and started his brewery in 1843 using a recipe from his native Yorkshire. His home-brewed beer was a great local success and the Carling company was established in London, Ontario in 1840.

The brewery consisted of two potash kettles and a horse to turn the grinding wheel. In a short period of time, he was employing six men, along with his two sins Will and John, age eighteen and twelve, as helpers.

His sons nurtured the business, built a new brewery in 1879, which burned down shortly thereafter and then recovered to create a joint stock corporation in 1882 called The Carling Brewery & Malting Company of London Ltd. Over the rest of the century, Carling enlarged its sales agency network into a coast to coast operation,

Many years later the brewery was acquired by E.P Taylor’s Canadian Breweries Ltd., which became Carling O’Keeffe, thereafter merging into Molson, which would become Molson-Coors. Under Taylor, Carling Black Label became the world’s first beer brand to be brewed on a mass international scale. In Canada, he promoted Black label as his flagship lager from the 1930s onward.
History of Carling brewery