Stark Candy Company

{{Short description|Former Candy manufacturer}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Stark Candy Company

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| type = Private company

| fate = Purchased, then closed

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| successor = Necco

| foundation = 1939

| founder = Howard B. Stark

| defunct = 2008

| location_city = Pewaukee, Wisconsin

| location_country = U.S.

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| industry = Confectionery

| products = Stark wafers, candy hearts

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The Stark Candy Company, originally the Howard B. Stark Company, was a candy manufacturer founded in 1939, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.{{cite news|url=http://journaltimes.com/news/local/no-love-for-candy-maker-stark-candy-to-close-plant/article_fae7f4bf-37fa-50e5-8837-94569b9bd4e3.html|title=No love for candy maker, Stark Candy to close plant|date=March 7, 2008|work=The Journal Times|publisher=AP|accessdate=2 April 2018}} It was a competitor to Necco and manufactured products including candy hearts,{{cite book|last1=Hartel|first1=Richard W.|last2=Hartel|first2=AnnaKate|title=Candy Bites: The Science of Sweets|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uk66BAAAQBAJ&dq=Stark+Candy+Company&pg=PA256|date=March 29, 2014|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|page=256|isbn=9781461493839}} candy raisins, Mary Janes,{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Andrew F.|title=The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoWlCmNDA3QC&dq=Stark+Candy+Company&pg=PT439|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195307962|page=413}} peanut butter kisses, salt water taffy, and candy cigarettes.

Stark moved from Milwaukee to Pewaukee in 1960. In 1988, it was purchased by Necco. In 2008, Necco announced the Stark plant would close.{{cite web|url=https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/82935-necco-to-close-stark-candy-plant|title=Necco to close Stark Candy plant|date=March 20, 2008|work=candyindustry.com|accessdate=2 April 2018}} Candy raisins were discontinued after the company was purchased by Necco, sparking a consumer backlash.