Four months after its purchase of New England Confectionary Co. collapsed, Spangler Candy Co. has succeeded in buying the two leading brands of bankrupt Necco and will slowly bring back Necco Wafers and Sweethearts over the next two years – probably in Spangler’s expanding Bryan, Ohio, campus.
“Sweethearts and Necco Wafers are iconic brands with rich hundred-year-plus histories. These are perfect additions to our portfolio of traditional candies,” said Kirk Vashaw, Spangler chairman and CEO. “We look forward to announcing the Sweethearts relaunch for the 2020 Valentine season, and hope to reintroduce Necco Wafers to the marketplace in 2019.
“We are particularly excited about the Sweethearts brand,” he continued. “Many people have memories of sorting through their box of Sweethearts to find just the right message to share.”
Necco went bankrupt this spring and was initially bought in a May auction for $18.83 million by Spangler, which makes Dum Dum lollipops and marshmallow Circus Peanuts. Days after the sale, Spangler wanted its purchase price adjusted to reflect a lower price, causing the sale to collapse.
Instead, Round Hill Investments, run by C. Dean Metropoulos and his sons Evan and Daren, won Necco for $17.3 million, but they never reopened the company. Although it wasn’t specified in Spangler’s news release, the company apparently bought the two Necco brands from Round Hill.
Spangler also announced it is expanding its campus. It has purchased and is making plans to renovate a 20-acre site owned by machine shop New Era Ohio LLC, providing additional room for warehouse space, future expansion and growth. That site is adjacent to Spangler’s.
Spangler Candy Co. has been family owned and operated in Bryan, Ohio, since 1906. It is one of the largest lollipop producers in the world with its Dum-Dums brand, and the only major candy cane producer in the U.S. Other products include Saf-T-Pops and Spangler Circus Peanuts.
