At ForceBrands, we build the teams that build the brands. That’s why we’re celebrating some of our favorite candy brands and the people behind them (bonus, you can hand out these sweet treats this Halloween).
Check out our curated list below featuring some of our favorite finds from our FoodForce insiders.
1. Quin Candy
Candy creator Jami Curl started this small-batch company in 2013 using only ‘real’ ingredients. The Portland, Oreg.-based shop offers gumdrops, caramels, marshmallows, lollipops, and more. All of her products are available for nationwide delivery.
2. Taza Chocolate
This Boston-based chocolatier was founded in 2005 by Alex Whitmore who first fell in love with stone ground chocolate while traveling in Oaxaca, Mexico. It wasn’t long before Whitmore opened up a chocolate factory in Somerville, Mass. alongside his wife, Kathleen Fulton, who is Taza’s Brand Manager. Taza is a pioneer in ethical cacao sourcing and is the first U.S. chocolate maker to establish a third-party certified Direct Trade Cacao Certification program. They maintain direct relationships with their cacao farmers and pay a premium above the Fair Trade price for their cacao.
3. Tony’s Chocolonley
This truly is chocolate for a ‘hire’ purpose. Tony’s Chocolonely was founded with the vision to produce 100 percent slave-free chocolate worldwide. It all began when Dutch investigative reporter Teun (Tony) van de Keuken launched an investigation about the use of slavery within the cocoa industry. Shocked to discover that most of the chocolate on supermarket shelves was harvested by slaves (worse, by child slaves), he decided to take action and created his very own slave-free chocolate. It’s been proudly flying off shelves since its founding in 2005.
4. Cracked Candy
This growing female-owned operation based in Brooklyn, N.Y. was started by Flora Pringle (an entrepreneur and mother of three) who set out to make candy healthy. The mission of Cracked Candy is simple: to provide a happy and healthy, great tasting all-natural candy that gives you all the taste and indulgence you want in a candy, without the harmful effects of sugar. So go ahead, support your local girl gang.
Do you dream of being the next Charlie with your own chocolate factory? Explore our FoodForce division and land your sweetest job yet.