Fannie May

The first Fannie May shop was opened in 1920 by Henry Teller Archibald at 11 North LaSalle Street in Chicago, selling buttercream candies.

The Second World War made some of the ingredients in Fannie May's recipes hard to come by. However, they did not change their recipes, or change the candies' quality.{{cite web|url=http://www.fanniemay.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentDisplay?c=history&t=A&storeId=20052&catalogId=12302&langId=-1|title=History of Chocolate|date=|publisher=Fannie May|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810142734/http://www.fanniemay.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentDisplay?c=history&t=A&storeId=20052&catalogId=12302&langId=-1|archive-date=August 10, 2014|access-date=August 4, 2014}}

In the mid-1980s the company opened its first store in Missouri. By the end of the decade, more than 250 locations were in operation, mostly in the Midwest. In 1992, the Archibald Candy Company expanded its business by acquiring chocolatier Fanny Farmer{{cite web |url=http://www.thegavel.net/fanfarm.html |title=Fanny Farmer: The Sweet Collectibles |first1=Leon |last1=Poirier |first2=Rose |last2=Poirier |access-date=August 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527193613/http://www.thegavel.net/fanfarm.html |archive-date=May 27, 2013 |url-status=dead }} and its 200 retail stores in the northeastern United States as a sister brand to Fannie May.{{cite news |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4DE1E3FF936A3575BC0A964958260 |title= Fanny Farmer Parent Will Sell the Candy-Store Chain |newspaper= The New York Times |date= August 5, 1992 |access-date= August 1, 2014}}

The acquisition proved too much for Archibald, which filed for bankruptcy and closed more than 200 of its retail stores. An errant path of merger and acquisitions, whereby the company had become the largest chain of candy retailers in the country but without adequate financing and a viable corporate strategy, was blamed for the bankruptcy.{{cite news |url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/02/26/series-of-mistakes-doomed-candymaker/ |newspaper= Chicago Tribune |publisher= Articles.chicagotribune.com/ |date= February 26, 2004 |title= Series of mistakes doomed candymaker: Some blame owner, strategy, but other causes listed too |first1=John |last1= Schmeltzer |access-date= August 3, 2014}}

In 2004 Alpine Confections purchased Archibald out of receivership, merged Fanny Farmer into Fannie May, and moved production to its own Green, Ohio-based Harry London Candies, which had been acquired a year earlier. Fannie May was reopened in October 2004{{cite web|url=http://www.gourmetretailer.com/top-story-alpine_confections_awarded_fannie_may_and_fanny_farmer_brands-4840.html|title=Alpine Confections Awarded Fannie May and Fanny Farmer Brands|date=|publisher=Gourmetretailer.com|accessdate=2013-04-22}} with 45 retail outlets.

In April 2006, Fannie May was sold for $85 million plus an earnout to publicly traded Internet retailer 1-800-Flowers.com.{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/paragon-capital-partners-completes-sale-of-fannie-may-confections-brands-inc-to-1-800-flowerscom-55880692.html|title=Paragon Capital Partners Completes Sale of Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc. to... - re> NEW YORK, May 2 /PRNewswire/|date=|publisher=Prnewswire.com|location=New York|accessdate=2012-03-07}} The chocolates and candy continued to be manufactured in Ohio under the name Fannie May Confections Brands Inc, while the Fannie May corporate headquarters remained in Chicago.

In March 2017 the Italian confectionery giant Ferrero SpA bought Fannie May and Harry London from 1-800-Flowers.com, for $115 million.[https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/87652-ferrero-to-purchase-fannie-may-confections-brands-for-115-million Ferrero to purchase Fannie May] on Candy Industry, March 16, 2017 by Alyse Thompson At the time Ferrero indicated that it hoped to expand Fannie May beyond its currently regional market.{{Cite news|url=http://www.candyindustry.com/articles/87652-ferrero-to-purchase-fannie-may-confections-brands-for-115-million|title=Ferrero to purchase Fannie May Confections Brands for $115 million|access-date=2017-05-08|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/news_home/Business_News/2017/03/Ferrero_International_to_acqui.aspx?ID=%7B12E83EB8-269B-408A-9CFE-7D01AEA15529%7D&cck=1|title=Ferrero International to acquire Fannie May Confections|access-date=2017-05-08}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-nutella-maker-buys-fannie-may-0318-biz-20170317-story.html|title=Italian maker of Nutella buys Fannie May|last=Channick|first=Robert|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=2017-05-08|language=en-US}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2024}}

• 1920 Buttercreams are introduced.
• 1946 The Pixie, the company's most popular candy to date, is introduced.
• 1963 The Mint Meltaway, a combination of dark chocolate and peppermint coated with chocolate or a green pastel confection, is introduced.
• 1972 The Trinidad, a dark truffle center enrobed in white confection and toasted coconut, is introduced.
• 1992 The Carmarsh, a combination of caramel, marshmallow, and chocolate, is introduced.

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book |title=Candy: The Sweet History |first1=Beth |last1=Kimmerle |publisher=Collectors Press, Incorporated |pages=176 |type=Hardcover |edition=1st American |date=September 2003 |location=Portland, Oregon |isbn=1888054832 }}

• {{official website}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060628034406/http://www.fanniemay.com/aboutus/ Fannie May Confections, Inc. History]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050828210259/http://www.piperjaffray.com/504 Consumer M&A Article on Alpine Confection, Inc.'s Purchase of Fannie May]

{{Ferrero}}

Category:Companies based in Chicago

Category:Economy of the Midwestern United States

Category:Confectionery companies of the United States

Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002

Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004

Category:American chocolate companies

Category:Ferrero SpA