Smarties Candy Company
{{Short description|American confectionery company}}
{{Infobox company
|name = Smarties Candy Company
|logo = Smarties logo transparent background.png
|logo_alt = The Smarties Candy Company logo on a transparent background. The logo consists of an illustration of a roll of Smarties wafer candies. The wafers are multicolored, and the roll is emblazened with the word "SMARTIES" in red.
|image = US-Smarties-Candy-wWrapper.jpg
|image_caption = Smarties tablet candies in roll (right) and loose (left).
|image_alt = An image of Smarties tablet candies on a white background. On the right is a roll of candies consisting of 15 multicolored tablets in a clear film wrapper. The wrapper displays the Smarties Candy Company logo. On the left are a selection of loose Smarties candies.
|type = Private
|foundation = {{start date and age|1949}} [https://www.smarties.com/our-story/ Smarties website - Our story]
|founder = Edward Dee
|former_name = Ce De Candy, Inc.
|location = Union, New Jersey, United States
|key_people = {{Unbulleted list |Sarah Dee (co-president)|Jessica Dee Sawyer (co-president)|Liz Dee (co-president){{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/27/smarties-candy-wont-sell-the-business-but-they-may-buy-others-company-president.html|title=Smarties Candy Won't Sell the Business, But it May Buy Others: Co-President|last=Camp|first=Catherine|publisher=Cnbc.com|date=October 27, 2017|access-date=December 12, 2017}}}}
|industry = Confectionery
|products = Smarties
|revenue = US$15 million (2021)
|website = {{URL|https://www.smarties.com/|smarties.com}}
}}
Smarties Candy Company (formerly Ce De Candy, Inc.) is a confectionery company well known for its namesake candy, Smarties.{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/business/2014/02/made_in_jersey_1.html|title=Made in Jersey: Smarties keep rolling out of Union factory|author=Greg Hatala|publisher=NJ.com|date=2014-02-11|access-date=2014-05-23}}{{cite web|url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2011/05/smarties-maker_to_students_eat.html|title=Smarties-maker to students: Eat our candy; don't snort it|author=Dave Murray |publisher=MLive|date=2011-05-31|access-date=2014-05-23}} Edward "Eddie" Dee founded Ce De Candy in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in 1949. Dee emigrated from England to the United States.{{cite web |url=http://www.rocketscandy.ca/our-history/ |title=Our History {{!}} Rockets® Candy |website=www.rocketscandy.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917035705/http://www.rocketscandy.ca/our-history/ |archive-date=2012-09-17}}
Edward Dee's granddaughters, Sarah Dee, Jessica Dee Sawyer and Liz Dee{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/10/04/investing/smarties-candy-company-millennial-women/ |title=Three Millennial women are revolutionizing Smarties |date=October 4, 2015 |publisher=CNN |access-date=March 17, 2016}} serve as co-presidents of the company.{{cite web|url=https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/smarties-diy-halloween-costume-push-names-3-presidents/310710|title=Smarties Has 3 New Co-Presidents --And a New Halloween Push|last=Wohl|first=Jessica|publisher=AdAge.com|date=October 3, 2017|access-date=December 12, 2017}} Smarties Candy Company operates plants in Union Township, New Jersey, and in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.{{cite web|url=https://www.philzendia.com/taking-tour-of-smarties-candy-factory/|title=Taking a Tour of the Smarties Candy Factory|author=Diane Nassy|publisher=philzendia|date=2012-08-08|access-date=2014-05-23|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405005939/https://www.philzendia.com/taking-tour-of-smarties-candy-factory/|archive-date=2016-04-05}} The Canadian operations were initially located at 993 Queen Street West in Toronto in 1963 and moved to Newmarket in 1988. The old Toronto factory (c. 1907 east wing as fabric mill, c. 1920s west wing addition joined by central wing housing central heating and incinerator{{Cite web|url=https://jeffreyteam.com/info/candy-factory-lofts/|title = Candy Factory Loft Listings - for Sale - Updated Daily}}) is now the Candy Factory Lofts (conversion 1999).{{Cite web|url=https://condos.ca/toronto/the-candy-factory-lofts-993-queen-st-w|title = 993 Queen St W | Condos.ca}} Its US headquarters are in Union Township. It is one of the few remaining family-owned, mass-production confectionery companies in the United States.{{cite news |author=Marissa Rothkopf Bates |title=Smarties, a Halloween Favorite, Maintains a Sweet Family Business |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/nyregion/smarties-a-halloween-favorite-maintains-a-sweet-family-business.html |newspaper=New York Times |date=October 29, 2015 |access-date=2015-10-29}}
History
On January 10th, 1949, Edward Dee, a second generation candymaker from England, first began producing candy rolls in a rented New Jersey factory in Bloomfield with one wrapping machine and one tablet presser which was a repurposed pellet-making machine.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/nyregion/smarties-a-halloween-favorite-maintains-a-sweet-family-business.html?_r=1 |title=Smarties, a Halloween Favorite, Maintains a Sweet Family Business |author=Marissa Rothkopf Bates |date=October 29, 2015 |work=New York Times |access-date=March 17, 2016}}{{cite book|title= Candy: The Sweet History
|author= Beth Kimmerle
|publisher= Collectors Press
|date= 2003
|page= 89
|isbn= 1888054832
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jF0UUL-bjTAC&q=edward+dee+smarties&pg=PA89}} Dee, a Cambridge University graduate, called his product "Smarties" to "encourage people to pursue an education."{{cite web |url=https://njmonthly.com/articles/eat-drink/a-family-of-smarties/ |title=A Family of Smarties Keeps This Company Sweet |author=Pat Fiaschetti |date=September 29, 2016 |publisher=New Jersey Monthly |access-date=January 18, 2017}} His family produces a similar candy in England through Swizzels Matlow Co. Initially, Dee took the candy by car to small grocery and tobacco stores. He later moved his American operations to Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1959 and then again to its current location in Union Township in 1967.{{cite web|url=http://thehowmade.com/meatless-monday-with-the-smarties-candy-company|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109010930/http://thehowmade.com/meatless-monday-with-the-smarties-candy-company|title=Meatless Monday with the Smarties Candy Company|author=Dianne Wenz|publisher=Devil Gourmet|archive-date=2017-01-09|access-date=March 17, 2016}}
Ce De Candy's Canadian operations were first established in Toronto, Ontario, in 1963, and were later moved to Newmarket in 1988.{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2014/10/31/sweetest_place_on_earth_a_tour_of_the_rockets_candy_factory.html |title=Sweetest place on earth: A tour of the Rockets candy factory |author=Jennifer Bain |date=October 31, 2014 |work=The Star |access-date=March 17, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rockets-candy-a-halloween-treat-with-a-toronto-history-1.2288920|title=Rockets candy a Halloween treat with a Toronto history|publisher=CBC News|date=2013-10-30|access-date=March 17, 2016}} The Canadian candies go by the name Rockets to avoid confusion with Nestle's candy-coated chocolate Smarties. The company now produces Smarties around the clock in its two factories producing over 2.5 billion Smarties candy rolls per year.
In 1991, Mr. T and Ce De Candy collaborated to form Crusade for Kids. It encouraged kids to stay in school and say "no" to drugs. Crusade for Kids raised funds for the Children's Defense Fund charity. In October 2010, the company vice president of sales and marketing was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame.{{cite web|url=http://www2.candyandsnacktoday.com/CST/ExclusiveImages/ExclusiveImages-28.shtml|title=Candy Hall Of Fame Inducts 14|publisher=National Confectioners Association|date=2010-10-25|access-date=2014-05-23}}
In 2011, the company changed its name from Ce De Candy, Inc. to Smarties Candy Company after its most famous product. The company launched its "Smarties Think" campaign in 2013 to promote education and help classrooms in need.{{cite web |url=https://www.candyusa.com/news/smarties-candy-donates-25k-classroom-projects/ |title=Smarties Candy Donates $25K For Classroom Projects |date=9 January 2017 |publisher=Candy & Snack Today |access-date=January 18, 2017}} Since 2013, the company has donated $200,000 through DonorsChoose to provide school supplies.{{cite news |url=http://onlinedigitalpublishing.com/publication/?i=693152&article_id=3902586&view=articleBrowser |title=Smarties Donates $25K For Classrooms In Need|date=11 December 2020 |work=Candy & Snack Today}} The company completed a 674 kW solar project in 2016, adding 2,100 solar panels to the roof of their New Jersey factory.{{cite web |url=http://solarindustrymag.com/smarties-candy-co-is-sweet-on-solar|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008171852/http://solarindustrymag.com/smarties-candy-co-is-sweet-on-solar |title=Smarties Candy Co. Is Sweet On Solar |author=Joseph Bebon |date=October 7, 2016 |publisher=Solar Industry Magazine |archive-date=2016-10-08 |access-date=January 18, 2017}} In October 2017, the company's president of 40 years, Jonathan Dee, stepped down and Liz Dee, Sarah Dee, and Jessica Dee Sawyer assumed the role of co-president.{{cite web|url=https://www.vendingtimes.com/articles/updated-smarties-ship-in-special-packaging-and-for-8359?iid=BF2C697221ED4E58981DB7EBEF914084|title=Smarties Ship In Special Packaging And Formulation For Bulk Vending|author=Nick Montano|publisher=Vending Times|date=2011-05-20|access-date=2014-05-23}} That same month, Smarties announced the #LittleSmarties campaign to promote intellectual curiosity which features historical figures including Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, and Amelia Earhart, as well as a partnership with DonorsChoose to support classrooms in need of funding.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross/2017/10/05/smarties-candy-company-co-presidents/#4e379ec1c75f|title=Smarties Candy Company's Three Female Co-Presidents Share Their Best Career Advice|last=Gross|first=Elana Lyn|work=Forbes.com|date=October 5, 2017|access-date=December 12, 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/women-in-business-qa-sarah-dee-jessica-dee-sawyer_us_59e610c6e4b0a741e4b35439|title=Women in Business Q&A: Sarah Dee, Jessica Dee Sawyer and Liz Dee, Co-Presidents, Smarties Candy Company|last=Dunn|first=Laura Emily|publisher=Huffingtonpost.com|date=October 17, 2017|access-date=December 12, 2017}}
Products
The company also produces Mega Smarties, Giant Smarties, X-treme Sour Smarties, Tropical Smarties, Love Hearts, Smarties 'n Creme, candy necklaces, Smarties Pops in three sizes, and other candies,{{cite web|url=https://www.smartbrief.com/s/2014/02/smarties-offers-love-hearts-valentines-day|title=Smarties offers Love Hearts for Valentine's Day|publisher=New Jersey Online|date=2014-02-12|access-date=2014-05-23}} including Breath Savers. All Smarties products are peanut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan.{{cite web|url=http://www.ecorazzi.com/2014/03/11/smarties-executive-liz-dee-talks-compassionate-candy/|title=Smarties Executive, Liz Dee, Talks Compassionate Candy|author=Maria Mooney|publisher=Ecorazzi|date=2014-03-11|access-date=2014-05-23|archive-date=2014-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524003652/http://www.ecorazzi.com/2014/03/11/smarties-executive-liz-dee-talks-compassionate-candy/|url-status=usurped}}
While generally considered an everyday staple, groups also give out Smarties to encourage people to buckle up and drive safely. Among these are Tampa Bays' Students Against Destructive Ideas (SADD) and Dum Dum or Smartie initiatives in schools.{{cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/safetys-sweet-rewards/2170795/|title=Safety's sweet rewards|author=Douglas R. Clifford|publisher=Tampa Bay Times|date=2014-03-18|access-date=2014-05-23}}{{cite web|url=http://modotblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/smartie-or-dum-dum-which-will-you.html|title=Smartie or Dum Dum: Which will you choose?|publisher=Missouri Department of Transportation|date=April 10, 2010|access-date=2014-05-23}}{{cite web|url=https://www.semissourian.com/story/2046649.html|title=Local high schools rewarded for increased seat-belt use|author=Ruth Campbell|publisher=Southeast Missourian|date=2014-01-30|access-date=2014-05-23}}{{cite web|url=https://www.syracuse.com/news/2011/05/cbas_safe-driving_lookin_out_c.html|title=CBA's safe-driving "Lookin' Out" club officers honored by DA's advisory council|author=Jim O'Hara|publisher=Syracuse.com|date=2011-05-05|access-date=2014-05-23}}
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References
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