Smarties Candy Company History

On January 10, 1949, Edward Dee moved his family from England to New Jersey, securing a garage lease in Bloomfield. There, he acquired a gunpowder pellet machine and creatively repurposed it to craft small pressed-sugar tablets infused with fruit flavors. Using only two machines, he successfully founded Ce De Candy, Inc., the originators of Smarties®, a widely cherished candy wafer roll in the United States.

Initially, Edward personally delivered the candy to grocery stores across the United States using his car. To underscore the importance of education, he named the candy Smarties and expanded the venture, ultimately establishing a family-operated factory in Union.

In 1959, Edward relocated operations to Elizabeth, New Jersey, and in 1967, to the current Union location. On January 1, 2011, the company underwent a name change to Smarties Candy Company.

Edward expanded his candy enterprise to Canada by founding Ce De Candy, Ltd. in 1963. Initially based on Queen Street in Toronto, the operation later moved to a new facility in Newmarket, Ontario, in 1988. This Canadian branch primarily manufactures Smarties® and "Rockets®," with Smarties imported to the U.S. when demand exceeds the capacity of the New Jersey factory.

During the 1970s, Edward Dee's sons, Jonathan and Michael, joined the business, introducing new product lines like sour-flavored Smarties, larger-sized Smarties, and Smarties Candy Necklaces.

Presently, Smarties is under the leadership of Dee's granddaughters: sisters Liz Dee and Jessica Dee Sawyer, alongside their cousin Sarah Dee. The manufacturing process has evolved with the integration of robotic automation technology, utilizing forklifts, conveyors, and robotic arms to optimize candy production efficiency.
Smarties Candy Company History

Loft Candy Company

Loft Candy Company was founded by the London-born William Loft (1828-1919) in Manhattan after he immigrated to New York in the 1850s.

At first, he and his wife crafted handmade chocolates in their kitchen before opening a chocolate shop Canal Street in 1860. In 1919, they moved to the large plant building at 40th Avenue and Vernon Boulevard.

By 1920 Loft Candy Company became the largest retail company in United States and the company also the first retail candy store chain in America. Based in Long Island City, New York, the Loft Candy Company was a publicly held company with a $13 million candy and restaurant chain.

The company manufactured its own candies, syrups and beverages.

In 1930 the company acquired other candy retailer, the Happiness Stores and Mirror Stores in New Jersey. The combined operation owned 175 candy shop, soda fountain and tearooms.

The Loft Candy Company acquired Pepsi-Cola in 1931 and it was later merged into PepsiCo.

By 1941 Philadelphia business man Albert M. Greenfield (1887-1967) had acquired Loft Company through his business, the City Stores Corporation. He expanded Loft’s operation outside the New York area.

By 1985 it was down to just 40 stores in the New York area. The smaller company did not proper, went out of business and by the 1990s all the shops had closed.
Loft Candy Company