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History: Jerome C. Claeys founded Claeys Candy Inc. in a South Bend garage in 1919. The company initially made a product known as Etabar, a caramel nut bar covered with icing. Hard candies eventually became the primary item sold by Claeys, which has been overseen by Claeys’ grandson, Gregg Claeys, since the 1970s.
Headquarters: Claeys Candy has occupied five different production facilities in South Bend through the years, including the latest, 5229 Nimtz Parkway, which opened in 2022. The 50,000-square-foot building is twice as large as the previous factory. The staff is 45 employees, with seasonal workers added from September through December.
Life by the drop: “We pride ourselves on our flavors,” Gregg Claeys said of the hard-candy drops made by his company. The roster of more than a dozen flavors is led by top-sellers lemon, root beer, wild cherry and cinnamon. True to the company’s “old fashioned” name, Claeys also has an audience for its horehound (a soothing mint flavor), sassafras (a flavor akin to root beer) and anise (a flavor akin to licorice) hard candies.
Good-time Charlie: Outside the realm of hard candies, Claeys makes a Christmas confection known as Chocolate Charlie. Made of marshmallow and peanuts covered with chocolate, Chocolate Charlie is sold as a solid slab to be sliced by customers.
Availability: “We ship all over the country, but we’re not everywhere,” Claeys said. “We’re still a smaller candy company.” Ace Hardware is a Claeys customer that sells bags of lemon- and cinnamon-flavored treats.
Indianapolis plans: Claeys Candy will have a booth at the Sweets & Snacks Expo scheduled May 14-16 at the Indiana Convention Center. The National Confectioners Association will present its convention in Indianapolis in 2024, 2025, 2027, 2028, 2030 and 2031.
Website: claeyscandy.com
—Compiled by Dave Lindquist
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