Farley's & Sathers Candy Company - History

History

The following history is organized to follow the company as it was formed, from its roots as two separate companies, through the time when Sathers and Farley first came together under the umbrella of Favorite Brands International (FBI), a holding company, to its eventual emergence as a separate company combining the brands and products of many different operations.

Under Favorite Brands ownership the Farley and Sathers first joined with the Dae Julie Company and Trolli. Under Favorite Brands' management, Dae Julie was rolled into the Farley division while Sathers and Trolli remained as separate divisions. Favorite Brands was eventually acquired by Nabisco, and then shortly afterwards, Nabisco itself was merged with Kraft.

After the merger, as Kraft divested brands, divisions, and assets, Farley & Sathers emerged as a new company in its own right though shorn of a few key business units. The North American Trolli operation, which had been retained by Kraft, was eventually sold to the Wrigley Company, who subsequently sold it to Farley & Sathers. Much of the history of these companies is intertwined: Sathers bought much of its bulk candy supplies from Farley; the growth of Farley Foods before Favorite Brands was in no small part due to the implosion of E.J. Brach's which itself became part of the new Farley's and Sathers organization; the problems at Favorite Brands could be partially attributed to a resurgent E.J. Brach's after it merged with the Brock of Chattanooga candy company to become "Brach and Brock"). When sold by Kraft, Farley lost its fruit snack business but kept the Dae Julie gummi plant; with Farley & Sathers' purchase of the Brach and Brock company, it regained a fruit snack business though it had lost its advantage as first to market in the category. Many plants and distribution facilities were closed, consolidated, or replaced over time.