Brach's Confections, Inc., founded as E. J. Brach and Sons, is one of America's leading manufacturers of confections and fruit snacks, with principal offices in Dallas, Texas and Chattanooga, Tennessee.  In 1904 Emil, his wife and two sons, Edwin and Frank, opened a small store at the corner of North Avenue and Towne Street in Chicago, IL, called the "Brach's Palace of Sweets." The "factory" was in the rear, and the selling area was in the front of the store. They built the business making and selling great-tasting, high-quality candies at a fair price.  Now, almost a century later we still practice these same beliefs.

Today, over 100 years after Emil J. Brach opened his "Palace of Sweets" in Chicago, BRACH'S Confections continues to be one of America's leading candy companies.  Brach's is the leading manufacturer of fresh loose candy in the U.S.  Brach's is one of the leading manufacturers of staple (everyday) candy and seasonal (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, and Easter) candy.  We continue to be a leader in the very competitive confections and fruit snacks categories because we continue to provide great-tasting, high-quality products that provide fun for the entire family.

Beginning in the Windy City 
In 1859 Emil J. Brach, the son of German immigrants, was born in Iowa.  In 1881, at the age of 22, Emil came to Chicago, IL, to work for Bunte Brothers & Spoehr, a Chicago candy maker.  Initially he worked in the office and factory; soon, wanting more action, he became a salesman in the city of Chicago.  As a salesman, and later as a candy jobber, Emil made a good living.  He was able to save $15,000 and invested in a candy-manufacturing venture - an "investment without services."  The venture failed miserably, and Mr. Brach lost all of his savings.  Being a fighter, he decided to "take the bull by the horns," and go into business for himself as a manufacturer and retailer of candy.  In 1904 at the age of 45, he opened a small store (only 18' x 65') at the corner of North Avenue and Towne Street in Chicago. Emil’s wife and two sons, Edwin and Frank, helped him run the store, called "Brach's Palace of Sweets."   The "factory" was in the rear, with a store front facing the street.
 

Caramels Are First Creation
Mr. Brach’s first product was caramels.  His original idea was to make them in the back of the store and sell them fresh in attractive displays in the front.  No one could produce caramels at a lower cost than Brach.  Every Saturday, customers came from miles around to buy them at twenty cents a pound.  But Emil wasn't satisfied to wait for customers to come to his store.  As there were no large grocery or warehouse stores at the time, candy was sold in department stores downtown.  At the age of 14, Frank, the company's first salesman, climbed into a horse-drawn carriage and delivered caramels to Siegel, Cooper & Co., department stores, Brach's first retail customer.
 

The Business Begins To Expand
The Brachs soon outgrew their first store and moved to Des Plaines Street on the west side of Chicago in May of 1906. Peanut and hard candies were added to the line of caramels, and weekly capacity rose to 12,000 pounds.  Emil knew that gaining new distribution was the key to building sales; S.H. Knox & Co., Steele Five and Dime, and several other stores soon were selling Brach's caramels.

By 1909 the company’s growth required a second move, this time to a new location at the corner of LaSalle and Illinois Avenue. The production line expanded to include coconut nougats and other hard candies. As the decade came to an end, annual candy production rose to 2.5 million pounds.

In 1913 the manufacturing plant and offices moved to an even larger facility on East Illinois Street. Here Brach’s added chocolate dipping and icing and cream dipping, and installed a marshmallow line and a department for panned candies. Quality was always foremost for the Brachs, and in this facility they installed the first "Laboratory of Control." In 1915 and 1916 they expanded this facility. Finally in 1923 Emil moved all operations to a new facility at the intersection of Kilpatrick, Ferdinand, and the Beltline Rail Road tracks.  That site grew to what we now know as the Cicero Avenue location.  At the time, Brach employed 200 candy makers and 250 salesmen who called on 100,000 retailers throughout the U.S.  They sold not only to department stores, but also to thousands of small corner stores and general merchandisers.  Brach's backed its candy with a thirty-day money-back guarantee, and they were the first candy company to have a state-of-the-art laboratory to inspect ingredients.  Quality was the principle on which BRACH'S built its reputation.

Brach's was also the first company to introduce barrels as a new and unique way to get additional display area in the stores. Next they introduced boxes with glass covers to keep the candy fresh. Impressive display cases involving candy stations, where the products could be mixed and weighed in the store, soon followed.
 

Times Get Tough
Although the company experienced unbelievable growth during its first 15 years, Brachs, like other businesses, struggled during World War I and the Great Depression. Brach's was strong enough to survive these trying times, while many other companies did not.

By the end of the 1930's, Brach's was the leading maker of fresh bulk candy. The company had rebounded from its slump by the end of the decade and sales hit 90 million pounds and 9 million dollars. It was the third best year in company history.

America Goes To War
During World War II, candy was used in rations for the troops.  Brach's won the Army & Navy Production Award during WWII for the fine production of materials needed by our armed forces.  Many Brach employees (320 men and 7 women) left to serve in the military during WWII, and eight employees were killed in action.

Significant changes in both product and distribution occurred in the 1940's.  The company shifted emphasis from the gift boxes and merchandising fixtures of the 1930's to a new line of candy bars featuring mint, coconut, pudding, and cherries.  The most popular Brach's candy bar was the "Swing Bar," which gained its appeal from swing music that was all the rage at the time.  At its height, the Swing Bar was the third most popular selling candy bar in the country.

The Post-war era in America saw the advent of "supermarkets", a new trade class.  These supermarkets replaced the old corner general stores, and candy became a featured product.  Brach's also began advertising for the first time during the 1940's, using billboards, women's magazines, and radio shows as media.  In 1948 Brach's focused on a new promotional event, Halloween, which featured candy corn and mellowcremes.
 

The Second Generation Takes Control
In 1947 Emil J. Brach died at the age of 88.  He worked until the day he died.  His two sons, Edwin and Frank, took full control of the company and during the 1940's Brach's became the #1 candy company in America.  The Brach sons became more consumer-oriented, segmenting their products specifically for the young and old.  By the end of the decade, with the war over and the economy booming, women began shopping at supermarkets an average of four times per week, and candy became a primary item on their lists.  Brach introduced the "Candy Shop," a special permanent display vehicle to keep its products on display year-round.

The 1950's were a great time for all candy companies as the baby boom took off.  A new invention called "television" kept people glued to their sets.  Brach’s added television advertising to its campaign in women's magazines.  This combination raised national consumer awareness of Brach's and its growing product line.
 

Pick-A- Mix Is Created
As they were now putting their boxes and bags on the shelves in supermarkets, Brach's no longer needed fixtures like Candy Shop.  Frank Brach developed a new but nostalgic fixture, at which consumers could mix their own candy as they had in the 1930's.  Many laughed at him and said the idea was outdated.  Nevertheless, in 1958 Frank introduced the concept of Pick-A-Mix, which quickly gained popularity and still remains a very important part of our business.  Brach's continued to develop seasonal promotions and Easter sales grew tremendously with the help of Bugs Bunny™ (Warner Brothers), our first co-branding partner.

Business is Booming
In the 1960's, children and teenagers were consuming candy at record levels.  Anything with chocolate, peanuts, or peanut butter was a big hit.  Pick-A-Mix continued to grow due to the new fixtures and displays.  The company expanded the Chicago facility to keep up with demand.  Over 500 varieties of candy were made in 1961.

Brach's Is Sold
In 1965 Edwin Brach died at the age of 77 and Frank, then 75, took over the company operations.  He soon realized he could not keep up due to the sheer size of the company.  In 1966 Frank sold Brach's to American Home Products and became Chairman of the Brach's division of the company. Arthur Bridge was named President of the Company, the first president without the last name of Brach.  Over the next 20 years Brach's continued to be one of the leading candy companies in spite of greater competition from both U. S. and foreign based companies.

In 1987, American Home Products sold Brach's to European candy and coffee giant Jacobs Suchard. In 1990, the principal stockholder of Jacobs Suchard, Klaus J. Jacobs, sold the company to Phillip Morris, but retained ownership of certain business units, including Brach's.

Brach's Builds For The Future
In August 1994 Mr. Jacobs, Chairman of the Board of E. J. Brach, purchased all of the shares of Brock Candy Company of Chattanooga, TN, forming Brach & Brock Confections, Inc., in November of that year. The merger of the two companies with similar sounding names created the fourth-largest candy company in the United States.

The merger of Brach & Brock provided the opportunity to enter both the Gummi candy segment and the fast-growing fruit snacks category. We have successfully introduced many licensed brands of fruit snacks, among them Hi-C®, HOT WHEELS™, DRAGON BALL Z®, FROOT LOOPS™, ARTHUR™, CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG™, BOB THE BUILDER™, HOT HITS® SPIDER-MAN™, and ANIMAL PLANET ™ THE CROCODILE HUNTER™. These introductions have made us the fastest-growing fruit snack manufacturer during the past three years.

Since 1999 we have complemented our Pick-a-Mix loose candy business with a new avenue of sales, Direct Store Delivery. Moving beyond the Pick-a-Mix concept that Frank Brach developed over forty years ago, we have developed the "Fresh Candy Shoppe," a fixture that includes all types of candy, including wrapped and unwrapped sugar products, Gummi products, yogurt-covered products, and loose chocolates.  This new method of distributing our high-quality candies using our trucks, drivers, and merchandisers is now available in a number of markets across the United States; and the good news for candy lovers is that list of markets is expanding.  Today we have Fresh Candy Shoppes in America's leading supermarket chains.

Great-Tasting, High-Quality, And Fun Products - The Tradition Lives On
Acquired by Farley's & Sathers Candy Company, Inc. in November, 2007, BRACH’S® continues to be one of America’s leading candy brands.