Atkinson Candy Co. announced a recent agreement with Laco, Inc., a strategic partner of The Warrell Corp., to purchase the Slo Poke®, Black Cow® and Sophie Mae® brands. The three classic brands will become a part of the Atkinson family of traditional made in America confections.
Atkinson Candy Co. will have exclusivity on marketing and sales of the newly acquired brands, while manufacturing details are still in discussions. During this transition period, Atkinson Candy Co. and the Warrell Corp. plan to utilize the contract manufacturing capabilities of Warrell at their facility in York, Pa., as well as Atkinson's facilities in Lufkin, Texas.
"This strategic transaction by Atkinson and the potential for additional product introductions represent new opportunities for both Warrell and Atkinson Candy Co. to work together and maximize existing capabilities of both companies to our mutual benefit." said to Pat Huffman, president of the Warrell Corp., in a prepared statement. Eric Atkinson, president of Atkinson Candy Co. said, "We are proud to bring these three great items into our ever growing house of classic candy brands. This acquisition points to our continued strategic growth in the classic confections market and allows us to work more closely with other family owned U.S. businesses."
The Sophie Mae® brand, in particular, presents Atkinson Candy Co. with a unique opportunity to expand their existing peanut brittle business, which they have been producing since 1938. "This is a fantastic occasion for us to build line extensions for our peanut brittle by leveraging this well-known brand name," said Atkinson.
