Bobs Candies

Bobs Candies is an American confectionery brand manufactured by Ferrara Candy Company. Its history began in 1919 in Albany, Georgia, where investor Robert E. McCormack established the business under the name Famous Candy Company. The company changed its name to Bobs' Candy Company in 1924 and later removed the apostrophe, resulting in the Bobs Candies name used by the brand. The brand became closely associated with striped candy, mint products, and candy canes. Bobs is described as the world's largest manufacturer of striped candy, a position tied to the company's long-running specialization in stick candy and related seasonal formats. Its product range has included traditional candy canes and mini candy canes, peppermint balls, mint lumps, cherry lumps, mint sticks, soft mints, and sugar-free hard candies such as butterscotch discs and starlight mints. Bobs also has a place in the industrial history of commercial candy-cane production. Robert E. McCormack was an early adopter of cellophane wrapping for candy. In 1952, a member of the McCormack family was credited with developing machinery that could twist and cut stick candy. The following year, another machine was developed to bend the sticks into cane shapes. Known as the Keller Machine, this equipment helped mechanize candy-cane production and contributed to the emergence of large-scale commercial candy-cane manufacturing. The McCormack family owned the business for most of its earlier history. In 2005, Bobs was sold to Farley & Sathers, a confectionery company with a portfolio of candy brands. Farley & Sathers later merged with Ferrara Pan in 2012, creating Ferrara Candy Company. Bobs Candies subsequently became part of Ferrara's broader confectionery portfolio. The brand's identity remains centered on traditional striped candies, mint confectionery, and candy-cane products, with seasonal candy canes representing its most recognizable offering.

Bobs Candies traces its origins to 1919, when investor Robert E. McCormack founded the Famous Candy Company in Albany, Georgia. The company adopted the name Bobs' Candy Company in 1924 and later dropped the apostrophe. This evolution established the Bobs name as the identity of a confectionery business specializing in stick candy, striped candy, mints, and candy canes. The company developed at a time when candy manufacturing was moving from small-scale hand production toward more standardized industrial processes. McCormack was credited with being the first manufacturer to wrap his candy in cellophane, an innovation that supported cleaner handling and commercial distribution. The business's later importance was tied particularly to candy-cane manufacturing. In 1952, a McCormack family member was credited with creating a machine that twisted and cut stick candy. In 1953, a related machine was developed to bend the candy into cane form. The resulting Keller Machine helped transform candy-cane production into a commercial manufacturing industry rather than a process dependent primarily on manual shaping. Bobs became strongly associated with striped candy and was described as the largest manufacturer of striped candy in the world. Its products extended beyond seasonal candy canes to include soft mints, mint sticks, peppermint balls, mint lumps, cherry lumps, and sugar-free hard candies. Candy canes and mini candy canes remained the brand's most recognizable formats, while the broader range allowed Bobs to participate in both everyday mint confectionery and seasonal holiday sales. In 2005, ownership moved from the McCormack family to Farley & Sathers. The transaction marked a shift from family ownership to operation within a larger confectionery portfolio. Farley & Sathers subsequently merged with Ferrara Pan in 2012, and the combined business became Ferrara Candy Company. Bobs Candies became one of the brands managed by Ferrara. The brand's later history is therefore best understood as the continuation of a legacy candy business within a larger American confectionery company, rather than as an independent family-owned manufacturer. The available reference material does not establish a separate Bobs corporate headquarters, current executive roster, detailed international distribution footprint, or a standalone corporate website. The brand's documented identity is instead defined by its American origins, its historic production innovations, and its continuing range of striped candy, mint products, and candy-cane formats.

• 2012

  Bobs enters the Ferrara Candy Company portfolio

  [1]Bobs Candiesen.wikipedia.org

  Farley & Sathers merged with Ferrara Pan, forming Ferrara Candy Company and bringing Bobs into the combined business.

• 2005

  Farley & Sathers acquires Bobs

  [1]Bobs Candiesen.wikipedia.org

  The McCormack family sold Bobs to Farley & Sathers.

• 1953

  Candy-cane bending machinery is developed

  [1]Bobs Candiesen.wikipedia.org

  A machine was developed to bend stick candy into cane shapes, helping industrialize commercial candy-cane production.

• 1952

  Twisting and cutting machinery is developed

  [1]Bobs Candiesen.wikipedia.org

  A member of the McCormack family was credited with inventing machinery to twist and cut stick candy.

• 1924

  The company adopts the Bobs name

  [1]Bobs Candiesen.wikipedia.org

  The business changed its name to Bobs' Candy Company and later dropped the apostrophe.

• 1919

  Famous Candy Company is founded

  [1]Bobs Candiesen.wikipedia.org

  Robert E. McCormack founded the business in Albany, Georgia, under the name Famous Candy Company.

A traditional American confectionery brand focused on striped candy, mint products, and candy canes, with a heritage linked to the mechanized production of commercial candy canes.

• Seasonal confectionery

  Candy Canes

  Bobs candy canes are the brand's signature seasonal product and reflect its historic expertise in twisting, cutting, and bending striped stick candy into cane shapes. The line represents the brand's strongest connection to holiday confectionery and to the industrial candy-cane manufacturing process associated with the Keller Machine.

• Seasonal confectionery

  Mini Candy Canes

  Mini candy canes provide a smaller format of the brand's traditional striped candy cane. They extend the core candy-cane proposition into bite-sized seasonal confectionery while retaining the visual and flavor profile associated with Bobs products.

• Mint confectionery

  Sweet Stripes Soft Mints

  Sweet Stripes Soft Mints are a mint-focused Bobs product in a softer candy format. They sit within the brand's broader striped-candy and mint portfolio, complementing the harder mint sticks, peppermint balls, and other traditional sugar confectionery.

• Stick candy

  Sweet Stripes Mint Sticks

  Sweet Stripes Mint Sticks are traditional stick-shaped striped mint candies. The product represents the manufacturing format from which the brand's candy-cane expertise developed and links everyday mint confectionery with Bobs' historic striped-candy identity.

• Mint confectionery

  Peppermint Balls

  Peppermint Balls are round peppermint candies within the brand's traditional mint range. They broaden Bobs' offering beyond sticks and canes while maintaining its emphasis on familiar, durable hard-candy formats.

• Mint confectionery

  Mint Lumps

  Mint Lumps are a traditional Bobs mint candy format. They belong to the brand's established range of non-seasonal mint confectionery and demonstrate the breadth of its product line beyond candy canes.

• Fruit confectionery

  Cherry Lumps

  Cherry Lumps are a cherry-flavored member of the Bobs traditional candy range. Their inclusion shows that the brand's portfolio has included fruit-oriented confectionery alongside its more strongly associated mint and striped products.

• Sugar-free hard candy

  Sugar Free Butterscotch Discs

  Sugar Free Butterscotch Discs are a sugar-free hard-candy format with butterscotch flavor. They extend Bobs' traditional confectionery positioning into an alternative formulation while preserving the familiar disc-shaped candy format.

• Sugar-free mint confectionery

  Sugar Free Starlight Mints

  Sugar Free Starlight Mints are a sugar-free version of a classic hard mint format. They complement Bobs' standard mint products and provide an alternative for consumers seeking a sugar-free confectionery option.

• 2012

  Formation of Ferrara Candy CompanyM&A

  Background

  Farley & Sathers and Ferrara Pan combined their businesses in 2012.

  Action taken

  The companies merged to form Ferrara Candy Company, with Bobs becoming one of the brands in the resulting portfolio.

  Aftermath

  Bobs remained associated with traditional striped candy, mints, and candy canes under Ferrara's ownership structure.

  Source

• 2005

  Sale to Farley & SathersM&A

  Background

  Bobs had been owned by the McCormack family since its early history. The available reference identifies 2005 as the year the business was sold to Farley & Sathers.

  Action taken

  Ownership of Bobs was transferred from the McCormack family to Farley & Sathers.

  Aftermath

  Bobs continued as part of a larger confectionery portfolio and later entered Ferrara Candy Company through the 2012 Farley & Sathers and Ferrara Pan merger.

  Source

1. 1Bobs Candiesen.wikipedia.org