Smarties Candy Company

Smarties Candy Company is a privately held American confectionery manufacturer best known for Smarties, a low-cost compressed-sugar tablet candy sold primarily in rolls. The business was founded in New Jersey in 1949 by Edward Dee, an English-born second-generation candymaker who had emigrated to the United States. Dee began with a rented factory, a single wrapping machine, and a tablet press adapted from equipment used to make pellets. He named the product Smarties in part to associate the candy with learning and education. The company initially sold its rolls directly to small grocery stores and tobacco shops, transporting products by car. Its American operations moved from Bloomfield to Elizabeth in 1959 and then to Union Township in 1967, where the company’s United States headquarters and principal manufacturing site remain. Canadian production began in Toronto in 1963 and moved to Newmarket, Ontario, in 1988. In Canada, the product is marketed under the name Rockets because the word Smarties is associated there with Nestlé’s candy-coated chocolate product. Smarties Candy Company remains one of the relatively few family-owned mass-production confectionery businesses in the United States. The company’s granddaughters’ generation—Sarah Dee, Jessica Dee Sawyer, and Liz Dee—became co-presidents in 2017 after Jonathan Dee stepped down as president following approximately four decades in the role. The transition retained the company’s family-management model while placing its leadership in a younger generation. Its core product is the Smarties Candy Roll, consisting of small, flavored, pressed-sugar tablets in a paper wrapper. The company has expanded the range with larger rolls, Giant and Mega formats, sour and tropical variants, Smarties Pops, Smarties 'n Creme, Love Hearts, candy necklaces, and other confectionery products, including Breath Savers. The business states that its Smarties products are peanut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, attributes that make them widely suitable for schools, community events, and everyday retail. The company has also linked its brand to education, curiosity, and children’s community initiatives. In 1991 it partnered with Mr. T on the Crusade for Kids, promoting school attendance and drug avoidance while raising funds for the Children’s Defense Fund. In 2013 the company introduced Smarties Think and supported classroom projects through DonorsChoose. In 2017 the #LittleSmarties campaign used figures such as Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, and Amelia Earhart to connect candy with curiosity and learning. Manufacturing has remained central to the company’s identity. According to company background material cited in reference sources, its two plants together produce more than 2.5 billion rolls per year. In 2016 the New Jersey factory added a 674-kilowatt rooftop solar installation with about 2,100 panels. Smarties thus combines a highly recognizable mass-market product with family ownership, domestic manufacturing, educational philanthropy, and a focus on allergen-free candy.

Smarties Candy Company traces its origins to Edward Dee, an English-born, second-generation candymaker who established Ce De Candy in New Jersey in 1949. Dee had studied at Cambridge University and came from a family connected with confectionery production in England. On January 10, 1949, he began making candy rolls in a rented Bloomfield factory. The initial operation was small: it used one wrapping machine and one tablet press, the latter adapted from equipment originally intended for producing pellets. The compressed-sugar tablet format allowed the company to make a colorful, portable, inexpensive candy in high volume. Dee selected the name Smarties to suggest intelligence and to encourage an association between candy and education. In the company’s early years, he personally transported rolls by car to small grocery stores and tobacco retailers. This direct-sales approach helped establish distribution before the business developed the manufacturing and wholesale capacity associated with a national confectionery producer. The American operation moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1959 and relocated again to Union Township in 1967. Union became the company’s principal United States manufacturing and administrative base. The company expanded into Canada in 1963, initially operating at 993 Queen Street West in Toronto. Canadian production later moved to Newmarket, Ontario, in 1988. The Toronto premises were subsequently redeveloped as the Candy Factory Lofts. Because Nestlé’s chocolate Smarties already occupied the name in Canada, Ce De Candy sold its tablet candy there under the name Rockets. The distinction reflects different trademark and product traditions in the two markets rather than a change in the underlying candy format. Over time, the company grew from its original roll into a broader confectionery portfolio. In addition to standard Smarties, it developed larger formats, sour and tropical varieties, Smarties Pops, Smarties 'n Creme, Love Hearts, candy necklaces, and other products including Breath Savers. The company has described its Smarties products as peanut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, characteristics that make the products suitable for a wide range of consumers and institutional settings. The candies have also been used by organizations and schools in safety and youth-oriented initiatives, including programs encouraging children to buckle up and avoid destructive driving behavior. Community and education themes became more visible in the brand’s public activity. In 1991, the company collaborated with Mr. T on the Crusade for Kids, a program that encouraged children to remain in school and reject drugs while raising money for the Children’s Defense Fund. In 2013, Smarties introduced Smarties Think, an education-oriented campaign that supported classrooms through DonorsChoose. The company reported donating $200,000 through that effort from 2013 onward. In 2017, the #LittleSmarties campaign extended the learning theme by presenting figures including Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, and Amelia Earhart as examples of curiosity and achievement. The business has remained family owned while operating at mass-production scale. In October 2017, Jonathan Dee left the presidency after approximately four decades in the position. His relatives Liz Dee, Sarah Dee, and Jessica Dee Sawyer became co-presidents, preserving family control while transferring operational leadership to a younger generation. In 2011, the company formally changed its name from Ce De Candy, Inc. to Smarties Candy Company, placing the best-known product at the center of the corporate identity. Manufacturing continues in Union Township and Newmarket. Reference material describes combined production of more than 2.5 billion Smarties rolls per year. The company also invested in facility sustainability: in 2016 it completed a 674-kilowatt solar installation with about 2,100 panels on the roof of its New Jersey factory. Smarties Candy Company consequently occupies a distinctive position in the confectionery sector as a family-controlled, North American manufacturer built around a single iconic tablet candy and expanded through related formats, educational positioning, and broad retail distribution.

• 2017

  Next-generation family leadership takes over

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Liz Dee, Sarah Dee, and Jessica Dee Sawyer become co-presidents after Jonathan Dee steps down.

• 2016

  New Jersey factory adds solar power

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  A 674-kilowatt rooftop solar project with approximately 2,100 panels is completed at the Union Township facility.

• 2013

  Smarties Think launches

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company introduces an education-focused campaign and begins classroom support through DonorsChoose.

• 2011

  Company adopts the Smarties Candy Company name

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Ce De Candy, Inc. changes its name to Smarties Candy Company.

• 1991

  Crusade for Kids is created

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Smarties and Mr. T establish a youth-oriented initiative promoting education and drug avoidance while supporting the Children’s Defense Fund.

• 1988

  Canadian plant moves to Newmarket

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Canadian manufacturing operation relocates from Toronto to Newmarket, Ontario.

• 1967

  Operations move to Union Township

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The United States operation moves to its current Union Township, New Jersey, location.

• 1963

  Canadian production begins in Toronto

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Ce De Candy establishes its Canadian operation at a Toronto facility.

• 1959

  American operations move to Elizabeth

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company relocates its United States operation from Bloomfield to Elizabeth, New Jersey.

• 1949

  Edward Dee begins producing Smarties rolls in New Jersey

  [1]Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Edward Dee starts Ce De Candy in a rented Bloomfield factory using one wrapping machine and a repurposed tablet press.

Affordable, colorful, nostalgic, and broadly accessible candy associated with playful learning and simple compressed-sugar confectionery. The company also emphasizes peanut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan formulations for its Smarties products.

• Compressed sugar candy · 1949

  Smarties Candy Rolls

  The company’s signature product is a roll of small, brightly colored, flavored compressed-sugar tablets wrapped in paper. The format is inexpensive, portable, easy to portion, and strongly associated with American Halloween, school, and convenience-store candy traditions. Standard rolls remain the central product around which the Smarties brand has been built.

• Compressed sugar candy

  Mega Smarties

  Mega Smarties extend the core tablet-candy concept into a larger-format offering. They preserve the recognizable Smarties taste and color system while providing a more substantial package for sharing, gifting, or consumers seeking a larger version of the original roll.

• Compressed sugar candy

  Giant Smarties

  Giant Smarties are an enlarged presentation of the company’s namesake candy. The product broadens the brand’s format range beyond the traditional small roll and supports novelty, sharing, and promotional uses while retaining the basic compressed-sugar confectionery identity.

• Sour candy

  X-treme Sour Smarties

  X-treme Sour Smarties apply a more intense sour flavor profile to the familiar tablet format. The line gives the company a flavor-forward variant aimed at consumers who want a sharper, more adventurous alternative to the standard candy roll.

• Flavored compressed sugar candy

  Tropical Smarties

  Tropical Smarties broaden the flavor range with fruit-inspired tropical profiles. They use the company’s established tablet-candy format but offer a flavor variation intended to distinguish the product from the classic assortment.

• Lollipop

  Smarties Pops

  Smarties Pops translate the brand into a lollipop format. Available in multiple sizes, the product extends Smarties beyond its traditional roll and makes the brand suitable for party favors, impulse purchases, and occasions where a handheld confectionery item is preferred.

• Confectionery

  Smarties 'n Creme

  Smarties 'n Creme is a related confectionery product in the company’s broader portfolio. It demonstrates the company’s effort to develop formats beyond the original tablet candy while maintaining the Smarties name and its playful, accessible positioning.

• Compressed sugar candy

  Love Hearts

  Love Hearts are included among the company’s related candy products. They complement the Smarties portfolio with a recognizable tablet-style confectionery format associated with sweet, playful, and gift-oriented consumption occasions.

• Novelty candy

  Candy Necklaces

  Candy necklaces are wearable novelty confections made for playful consumption and children’s occasions. Their inclusion in the portfolio gives Smarties a product format distinct from rolls, tablets, and pops.

• Mints

  Breath Savers

  Breath Savers are among the additional confectionery products associated with Smarties Candy Company. They represent the company’s participation in the mint category alongside its better-known sugar-candy products.

• 2017#LittleSmarties

  United States

  The #LittleSmarties campaign promoted intellectual curiosity by highlighting figures such as Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, and Amelia Earhart. It was paired with additional DonorsChoose support for classrooms.

  Outcome. The campaign reinforced the company’s long-running education positioning and classroom-support activity; a separate campaign performance figure is not specified.

  Source
• 2013Smarties Think

  United States

  Smarties Think connected the brand with education and classroom assistance. The company used DonorsChoose to support teachers and school projects needing supplies or funding.

  Outcome. The company reported donating $200,000 through DonorsChoose from 2013 onward.

  Source
• 1991Crusade for Kids

  United States

  Smarties collaborated with Mr. T on a youth-focused initiative encouraging children to remain in school and reject drugs. The program also raised funds for the Children’s Defense Fund.

  Outcome. The initiative generated charitable support for the Children’s Defense Fund; a more detailed performance record is not specified in the cited reference.

  Source
• Safe-driving and school safety initiatives

  United States

  Smarties have been distributed by groups including Tampa Bay-area Students Against Destructive Decisions in initiatives encouraging seat-belt use and safer driving behavior.

  Source

• 2017

  Transfer presidential leadership to three family membersOther

  Background

  Jonathan Dee stepped down after serving as company president for approximately 40 years, creating a transition point for the family-owned business.

  Action taken

  Liz Dee, Sarah Dee, and Jessica Dee Sawyer assumed the roles of co-presidents.

  Aftermath

  Leadership passed to the next generation of the Dee family while the company retained its family-owned management structure.

  Source

• 2016

  Install rooftop solar at the New Jersey factoryStrategy

  Background

  The company pursued an on-site renewable-energy project at its Union Township manufacturing facility.

  Action taken

  Smarties completed a 674-kilowatt solar installation consisting of approximately 2,100 rooftop panels.

  Aftermath

  The project added on-site solar generation to the company’s principal United States manufacturing operation.

  Source

• 2011

  Rename the company after its flagship productStrategy

  Background

  The business had operated as Ce De Candy, Inc., while Smarties had become its most recognizable product and consumer-facing identity.

  Action taken

  The company changed its name to Smarties Candy Company.

  Aftermath

  The corporate name became more directly aligned with the company’s principal brand and signature candy.

  Source

1. 1Smarties Candy Companyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Smarties Candy Company official websitesmarties.com