See's Candies

See's Candies is a manufacturer and distributor of candy, particularly chocolate, in the western United States. It was founded by Charles See, his wife Florence, and his mother Mary in Los Angeles, California, in 1921. The company is now headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It has kitchens at its headquarters and at a second location in Los Angeles, where there is also a retail shop. It also has an office in Carson, California.

The company largely markets its products only in its own stores and at those of fellow Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary Nebraska Furniture Mart, allowing it to control the standards under which they are stored and marketed. They are also available in some airports in the Western United States. Since the mid 1990s, the company has also maintained a strong Internet presence via its website. It is also well known for being one of the very early investments purchased by Warren Buffett (via Blue Chip Stamps) for his Berkshire Hathaway Corporation (in 1972), beginning the path of that company from a textile concern to being one of the world's most successful conglomerates.

See's Candies operates over 200 stores in the following U.S. states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. There are also stores outside the U.S. in Hong Kong, Japan, and Macau. Seasonally — primarily during the year-end holiday shopping season — See's also offers its product in select markets in kiosks at malls and other shopping centers. See's opened their first location in Texas, located in Hurst at North East Mall on March 18, 2012.

On June 20, 2012, See's Candies made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, when the company built the world's largest lollipop, weighing 7,003 lbs and a length of 4 foot 8.75 inches. The previous largest lollipop record stood at a hefty 6,514 lb. (2 954.7 kg). This giant chocolate lollipop represented 145,000 standard-size See's lollipops.