Chocolat Frey AG (www.chocolatfrey.com), which claims to be a leading Swiss chocolate manufacturer, acquired a majority of the stock of SweetWorks Inc. The announcement was made April 9, although the deal is retroactive to Jan. 1. Headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., SweetWorks operates a production plant in Buffalo with approximately 200 employees, and also owns subsidiary Oak Leaf Confections Co. in Toronto that employs 250. The purchase price was not disclosed.
SweetWorks (www.sweetworks.net) was founded in 1956 as Niagara Candy by John and Angela Terranova. It makes chocolate and chewing gum products under the brands Sixlets, Celebration by SweetWorks, Oak Leaf, Ovation and Niagara Chocolates, and also co-manufactures for well-known confectionary companies in North America.
SweetWorks will continue to operate as an independent group of companies and its production facilities and staff will remain in place. Current owner and CEO Philip Terranova will continue as president. All of the North American market activities of Chocolat Frey and SweetWorks will be combined under a single management.
