Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, though, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories, bakers' confections and sugar confections.
Kinder Surprise, also known as Kinder Egg or Ovetto Kinder or Kinder Surprise Egg, is a candy manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero since 1974. It was co-created by Michele Ferrero and William Salice, and is one of several candies sold under the Kinder brand. Each chocolate egg surrounds a plastic capsule that contains a small toy. Kinder Surprise was originally created with children in mind, replicating an Italian Easter family tradition in which adults give children large chocolate eggs with a toy inside. However, Kinder Surprise toys have become collectible for adults as well. Since 1974, 30 billion Kinder Surprise eggs have been sold worldwide.
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company wholly owned by Mondelez International since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Uxbridge, West London, and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box, and many other confectionery products. One of the best-known British brands, in 2013 The Daily Telegraph named Cadbury among Britain's most successful exports.
The Hershey Company, commonly called Hershey's, is an American company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies, cakes, milk shake, drinks and many more, which increase its variety of range. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. It was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a minority stake, but retains a majority of the voting power within the company.
Candy corn is a candy most often found in the United States and Canada, popular primarily around Halloween. The three colors of the candy – a broad yellow end, a tapered orange center, and a pointed white tip – mimic the appearance of kernels of corn, hence the name. Each piece is approximately three times the size of a real kernel from a ripe or dried ear.
Mars is an American global manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$33 billion in annual sales in 2015. It was ranked as the 6th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States, the company is entirely owned by the Mars family. Mars operates in five business segments around the world: Mars Wrigley Confectionary, Petcare, Food, Drinks, and Symbioscience, the company's life sciences division.
Ferrero SpA is an Italian manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products and it is the second biggest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world. It was founded in 1946 in Alba, Piedmont, Italy, by Pietro Ferrero, a confectioner and small-time pastry maker who laid the groundwork for Nutella and famously added hazelnut to save money on chocolate. The company saw a period of tremendous growth and success under Pietro's son Michele Ferrero, who in turn handed over the daily operations to his sons. His son Pietro, who oversaw global business, died on April 18, 2011, in a cycling accident in South Africa at the age of 47.
Butterfinger is a candy bar created in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois by Otto Schnering, which currently is manufactured by Ferrero. The bar consists of a crispy peanut butter core coated in milk chocolate. Butterfinger has become known for its marketing and a roster of spokespersons, including Bart Simpson, Top Cat, Seth Green, Erik Estrada, Rob Lowe, and Jaime Pressly.
Milka is a brand of chocolate confection which originated in Switzerland in 1901 and has been manufactured internationally by the US confectionery company Mondelēz International since 1990. For more than 100 years, Milka has been primarily produced in Lörrach, Germany, producing about 140,000 tonnes of chocolate in 2012. It is sold in bars and a number of novelty shapes for Easter and Christmas. Milka also produces chocolate-covered cookies and biscuits. Milka brand’s name is derived from a portmanteau of the product’s two main ingredients: “MILch (milk) and KAkao .”
Svitoch is a Lviv-based Ukrainian confectionery manufacturer. It is owned by Nestlé since 1998. The company produces chocolate, chocolate candy, lollipops and many other types of candy.
The National Confectioners Association is the trade organization that advances, protects and promotes chocolate, candy, gum and mints, and the companies that make these special treats. As the leading association for the $35 billion U.S. confectionery industry, NCA educates the public to help ensure that it understands and appreciates the unique role that chocolate and candy can play in a happy, balanced lifestyle. Confections are produced in all 50 states, creating jobs for approximately 55,000 workers in more than 1,000 manufacturing facilities across the country. More than 400,000 jobs in agriculture, retail, transportation and other industries rely in part on the sale of confections for their livelihood. For every one job that is created by confectionery companies, another seven are supported in related industries.
Ptasie mleczko is a soft chocolate-covered candy filled with soft meringue or milk soufflé. It is called ptichye moloko in Russian, lapte de pasăre in Romanian, ptashyne moloko in Ukrainian, and linnupiim in Estonian. All these names literally mean "bird's milk" or crop milk, a substance somewhat resembling milk, produced by certain birds to feed their young. However, this is not the origin of the name; rather, "bird's milk" is an idiom of ancient Greek origin meaning "an unobtainable delicacy".
Smarties Candy Company is a confectionery company well known for its namesake candy, Smarties. Edward "Eddie" Dee founded Ce De Candy in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in 1949. Edward Dee’s granddaughters, Sarah Dee, Jessica Dee Sawyer and Liz Dee serve as co-presidents of the company. Smarties Candy Company operates plants in Union Township, New Jersey, and in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Union Township. It is one of the few remaining family-owned, mass-production confectionery companies in the United States.
Pearson's Candy Company is an American chocolate and confectionery manufacturer headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded as a confectionery distribution firm in 1909, the company began to manufacture its own products in 1912. Originally a family-owned company, Pearson's experienced changes in ownership, acquisitions and product alterations in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, before its most recent sale in November of 2018 to Spell Capital, a Minneapolis private equity firm.
E. Wedel is a famous Polish confectionery company, producing many varieties of high-quality chocolates, cakes, and snacks. Wedel is also a well-recognized brand of candy in Poland, considered to be the "Polish national chocolate brand" in that market, and is the leading candy brand among Polish producers with about 14% of the Polish market in 2005 and 11.7% in 2007.
Goetze's Candy Company, Inc. is an American confectionery company based in Baltimore, Maryland and specializing in caramel-based candies. Goetze's was established in 1895, as the Baltimore Chewing Gum Company by August Goetze and his son, William. In 1917, the family developed a soft, caramel candy, which ultimately evolved into their signature candy, Caramel Creams,, a soft chewy caramel with cream filling in the center. Each individual candy is typically packaged in a clear wrapper and twisted at two red and white ends.
Yıldız Holding is a Turkish conglomerate that is best known for manufacturing food products. The company also produces other consumer goods and has its own retail, private equity and real estate operations.
