Charms Candy Company

Charms Candy Company was an American confectionery business established in 1912 by Walter W. Reid Jr. in Bloomfield, New Jersey. It began as Tropical Charms, a name associated with individually wrapped, square-shaped hard candies. The company was an early user of cellophane wrapping for individual pieces, helping make its candies convenient to distribute and carry. The Tropical Charms name was later shortened to Charms as the business broadened its product range. The company developed a varied portfolio of confectionery products over the course of the twentieth century. Its original hard candies were sold in fruit flavors including cherry, grape, lemon, lime, orange, and raspberry. Charms also made seasonal lollipops, gum drops, sour candies, filled hard candies, and other small-format sweets. Among its more unusual products was 25 Carats, a pecan-filled chocolate bar produced from the late 1930s into the 1950s using Hershey chocolate. The product was discontinued after production costs and internal difficulties made it impractical to continue. Charms gained an important institutional customer during the Second World War, when its candies were included in U.S. Army combat rations as a supplemental source of energy. The candies remained part of military Meals, Ready-to-Eat, or MRE, supplies for decades after the war. Their presence in rations eventually generated an association with bad luck among some service members. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Defense removed Charms candies from MREs, reportedly because of those negative associations rather than because of a product-safety issue. Family leadership continued after the founder's generation. Walter Reid III, the founder's son, later took control of the company. Other members of the Reid and Cameron families also held leadership roles, including Ross B. Cameron Sr., the founder's son-in-law, and Cameron family members Ross B. Cameron Jr. and Reid B. Cameron. Charms moved its manufacturing plant from Bloomfield to Freehold, New Jersey, in 1973 and eventually acquired or built another manufacturing facility in Covington, Tennessee. Its most important product development came from the acquisition of the Triple Treat concept. Thomas T. Tidwell of Triple T. Co. had filed a 1966 patent application for a method of making candy with gum inside. Triple T. initially marketed the resulting confection as Triple Treat, then sold the concept to Charms in 1973. Charms renamed it Blow Pop. Blow Pop combined a hard candy shell with a piece of bubble gum in the center. It became Charms' best-selling product and grew into a major lollipop brand, with flavors such as watermelon, strawberry, blue raspberry, cherry, grape, and, later, sour apple. Charms also sold Charms Squares, Sweet & Sour Pops, Sour Balls, Charms Jellies, Chuckles Gum Drops, and peanut-shaped peanut-butter-filled hard candy. In 1988, Charms Candy Company was sold to Tootsie Roll Industries. The transaction added Blow Pops to Tootsie Roll's existing lollipop portfolio, which included Tootsie Pops. Tootsie Roll Industries described the combination as creating the world's largest lollipop manufacturer. Following the sale, Charms ceased to operate as an independent company, while Charms and Blow Pop products continued within the Tootsie Roll brand portfolio.

Charms Candy Company was founded in 1912 by Walter W. Reid Jr. in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Its original name, Tropical Charms, referred to individually wrapped square hard candies. The company was among the early confectionery businesses to use cellophane for individual wrapping, a format that supported hygienic handling and convenient distribution. The name was eventually shortened to Charms as the company expanded beyond its original candy line. During the Second World War, Charms products were included in U.S. Army combat rations as a supplemental energy food. The candies continued to appear in military MREs for many years after the war. Over time, some service members came to associate the ration candies with bad luck. The Department of Defense discontinued their inclusion in MREs in 2007 because of that cultural association. The removal was not described as a product-safety recall. After the founder's death or retirement from active leadership, his son Walter Reid III took control of the business. Management remained closely connected to the Reid and Cameron families. Ross B. Cameron Sr., Walter W. Reid Jr.'s son-in-law, and Cameron family members Ross B. Cameron Jr. and Reid B. Cameron were also identified as leaders of the company. Charms expanded its manufacturing footprint during the postwar period. In 1973, it moved its plant from Bloomfield to Freehold, New Jersey, and it later purchased or constructed a manufacturing plant in Covington, Tennessee. Its portfolio included fruit-flavored square hard candies, holiday lollipops, jellies, gum drops, sour products, filled hard candies, and chocolate confectionery. One of the company's most consequential developments originated outside Charms. Thomas T. Tidwell, founder of Triple T. Co. Inc., filed a 1966 patent application covering a method for producing candy with gum inside. Triple T. marketed the resulting product as Triple Treat. In 1973, the concept was sold to Charms, which renamed it Blow Pop. The product's hard candy exterior and bubble-gum center made it distinctive in the lollipop category. Blow Pop became the company's best-selling product and was offered in a range of fruit flavors, including watermelon, strawberry, blue raspberry, cherry, grape, and later sour apple. Charms also produced 25 Carats, a pecan-filled chocolate bar made from Hershey chocolate, from 1937 into the 1950s. Rising production costs and internal problems led to its discontinuation. Other products included Charms Jellies, Chuckles Gum Drops, peanut-butter-filled hard candy, Charms Squares, Sweet & Sour Pops, and Sour Balls. Tootsie Roll Industries acquired Charms in 1988. The deal expanded Tootsie Roll's lollipop offering beyond Tootsie Pops and brought Blow Pop into the Tootsie Roll corporate portfolio. The acquisition ended Charms Candy Company as an independent operating company, although the Charms and Blow Pop names continued as confectionery brands associated with Tootsie Roll Industries.

• 2007

  Charms candies leave MREs

  [1]Charms Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Department of Defense removes Charms candies from military MREs after their association with bad luck among service members.

• 1988

  Tootsie Roll Industries acquires Charms

  [1]Charms Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Charms is sold to Tootsie Roll Industries, bringing Blow Pop into the Tootsie Roll lollipop portfolio.

• 1973

  Charms moves its New Jersey plant and obtains the Blow Pop concept

  [1]Charms Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company relocates manufacturing from Bloomfield to Freehold and acquires the Triple Treat concept, which it renames Blow Pop.

• 1966

  Triple Treat candy-with-gum method is patented

  [1]Charms Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Thomas T. Tidwell files a patent application for making candy with gum inside, the technical basis of the later Blow Pop concept.

• 1941

  Charms candies enter military rations

  [1]Charms Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Charms candies begin appearing in U.S. Army combat rations during the Second World War.

• 1937

  25 Carats enters production

  [1]Charms Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Charms begins making the pecan-filled 25 Carats chocolate bar, which remains in production into the 1950s.

• 1912

  Tropical Charms is founded

  [1]Charms Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Walter W. Reid Jr. establishes the company in Bloomfield, New Jersey, initially under the Tropical Charms name.

A mass-market American confectionery maker focused on individually wrapped hard candies, novelty sweets, and lollipops. Its defining innovation was the Blow Pop, which combined a hard candy shell with bubble gum.

• Lollipop with bubble-gum center · 1973

  Blow Pop

  Blow Pop is a lollipop built around a bubble-gum center and a hard candy shell. Charms acquired the Triple Treat concept in 1973 and introduced it under the Blow Pop name. It became the company's best-selling product and was sold in fruit flavors including watermelon, strawberry, blue raspberry, cherry, grape, and later sour apple.

• Individually wrapped hard candy · 1912

  Tropical Charms / Charms Squares

  The company's original square-shaped hard candies were first marketed as Tropical Charms and later associated with the shorter Charms name. They were individually wrapped, initially in cellophane, and offered fruit flavors such as cherry, grape, lemon, lime, orange, and raspberry.

• Filled chocolate bar · 1937

  25 Carats

  25 Carats was a pecan-filled chocolate bar made with Hershey chocolate. Charms produced it from 1937 into the 1950s, but discontinued it after high production costs and internal operational difficulties made the product difficult to sustain.

• Jelly candy

  Charms Jellies

  Charms Jellies were part of the company's expanded range of soft and chewy confectionery products developed during the mid-twentieth century.

• Gum drops

  Chuckles Gum Drops

  Chuckles Gum Drops were among Charms' gum-drop offerings, complementing its hard candies and lollipops.

• Lollipop

  Sweet & Sour Pops

  Sweet & Sour Pops were flavored lollipops that formed part of Charms' broader novelty and sour-candy range.

• Sour hard candy

  Sour Balls

  Sour Balls were small hard candies produced as part of Charms' sour confectionery assortment.

• 2007

  Remove Charms candy from MREsStrategy

  Background

  Charms candies had been included in U.S. military rations since the Second World War but acquired a reputation for bringing bad luck among some service members.

  Action taken

  The U.S. Department of Defense removed the candies from MREs.

  Aftermath

  Charms no longer formed part of the standard MRE confectionery component.

  Source

• 1988

  Sell the company to Tootsie Roll IndustriesM&A

  Background

  Charms had developed a significant lollipop business led by Blow Pop.

  Action taken

  The owners sold Charms Candy Company to Tootsie Roll Industries.

  Aftermath

  Charms stopped operating independently, while Blow Pop was combined with Tootsie Roll's existing Tootsie Pops business.

  Source

• 1973

  Rebrand Triple Treat as Blow PopProduct launch

  Background

  Triple T. Co. had developed and marketed a candy with gum inside as Triple Treat before selling the concept to Charms.

  Action taken

  Charms acquired the concept and relaunched it under the Blow Pop name.

  Aftermath

  Blow Pop became Charms' best-selling product and later became part of Tootsie Roll Industries' lollipop portfolio.

  Source

1. 1Charms Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org