75 years of Smarties: The iconic candy is keeping its sweet tradition in the family
With Halloween right around the corner, candy brand Smarties is in crunch mode to meet the demand of trick-or-treaters nationwide.
The spooky celebration is a critical sales event for Smarties, the iconic plastic-wrapped slender roll of 15 fruit-flavored tiny, sweet, concave tablets whose fanbase spans across generations.
“Halloween represents over 25 % of our [annual] sales,” Liz Dee, co-president of New Jersey-based Smarties Candy Company, said in an interview with Bagable.com.
“This year, in particular, we’ve seen demand for Halloween candy earlier than we've ever seen it, at least in my time at the company,” Dee said. “It’s been driven by retailers putting Halloween sets on their shelves in the summer, something that people were calling ‘Summerween.’”
For the candy industry, Halloween is its Super Bowl because it is among the biggest candy-buying event of the year, according to the National Confectioners Association.
Shoppers are expected to shell out as much as $3.5 billion on Halloween candy in 2024.
That estimate isn’t lost on Dee, one of the founder’s granddaughters who runs the family business with her sister, Jessica Dee Sawyer, and her cousin Sarah Dee.
“We begin preparing for [next] Halloween basically the second Halloween wraps,” she said. “Once this Halloween is concluded, in early November, we’ll look at how our sales went and discuss next Halloween and really get ahead of it.”
Smarties and other non-chocolate treats are sitting in a sweeter spot this year for a few reasons, she said.
“Rising cocoa prices are certainly noteworthy and affecting Smarties in a positive way,” Dee said, referring to consumers having to pay more for chocolates versus non-chocolate candy at the grocery store. “The number one reason why people choose what they choose when they’re buying candy is value, or the price. The second reason is brand loyalty.”
But overall grocery inflation is also pushing shoppers to seek out better deals for all kinds of food items, including candy, she said.
Smarties, the brainchild of Dee’s grandfather, Edward Dee, debuted in 1949. On Walmart, a Halloween-themed bag of Smarties today cost $3.38 cents for 54 rolls, or just six cents per roll.
75 years later, if it ain’t broke …
Smarties Candy Company, originally founded as Ce De Candy, Inc., is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
A lot has changed over that period. But much has also stayed the same, said Dee, whose grandfather passed away in 2019. He was 95.
Edward Dee, who came from a family of candymakers in England, arrived in the United States by boat at the age of 25. “I'm actually a fifth-generation candymaker, as are my co -presidents,” Dee said.
He quickly set up shop with two machines and a rented facility in Bloomfield, New Jersey and started manufacturing Smarties, a name he chose for the sweet treat because “he wanted to encourage people to be lifelong learners, pursue education and be smart,” she said. “He read the newspaper cover to cover and did the crossword every single day and would quiz us on current events and news.”
The candy, she explained, is made using a compression technique that requires no water or heat. The ingredients are pressed at a very high pressure to form tablets.
The company employs 70 workers at its peanut-free production plant and headquarters in Union, New Jersey and another 70 employees at its peanut-free factory in Ontario, Canada.
“In both facilities we produce 24 hours a day, five days a week. Between the two facilities, we make about 75,000 pounds of candy per day,” Dee said. She estimates that equates to over four million candy rolls a day and a staggering two billion candy rolls per year. The privately-held business does not disclose its annual sales.
Each original Smarties roll is 25 calories and the candy is gluten-free and vegan and made with dextrose (a sugar derived from corn).
From the original mini sweet tablets (which still make up a majority of the brand offerings), the candy brand has expanded its candy portfolio to add Smarties Lollipops, bigger-size Smarties candy tablet rolls and Smarties candy necklaces.
“Not for sale”
Staying true to her grandfather’s vision for Smarties candy is very important for the company, Dee said.
To that end, “Smarties Candy Company isn't for sale,” she said. “The reason I mention it is because we are one of the few privately-held independent family candy businesses left.”
“Being privately held, we can prioritize quality, consistency, legacy and heritage and continue to give the brand the focus and attention that we believe Smarties deserves,” Dee said.
One of my fave candies! Great to learn more about the brand, thanks!