Russell Stover Candies

Eskimo Pie years

Russell Stover Candies did not start with candy. In 1921, Russell Stover and his partner, Iowa schoolteacher Christian Kent Nelson, created the world's first chocolate-dipped ice cream bar. At a dinner party, Russell's wife Clara Stover suggested calling it an Eskimo Pie. The product was a success for them, making them quite a fortune in their first year.^[2]

Chocolate candies

However, as other companies soon began to release similar chocolate-dipped ice cream products, Russell Stover was nearly forced out of business. The Stovers sold their share of the company for $25,000 and moved to Denver, Colorado. In 1923, Russell and Clara created the new eponymous company from their home, packaging and selling boxed chocolates. They were originally named "Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies". However, 20 years later, in 1943, it was renamed Russell Stover Candies.^[3]

Expansion

The company remained in the Stover family until 1969 when it was purchased by Louis Ward, who transformed the Midwest regional brand into a world-wide brand. The company expanded is chocolate brands by acquiring Whitman's in 1993 ^[4] and Pangburn's in 1999.^[5] It was owned by the Ward family until July 14, 2014, when the Swiss chocolate maker Lindt bought Russell Stover Candies.^[6]

Russell Stover Candies is the nation’s leading manufacturer of boxed chocolates and the third largest American chocolate manufacturer, trailing only Hershey and Mars. The company’s three brands – Russell Stover, Whitman's, and Pangburn's – account for more than 60 percent of all boxed chocolate sales in the United States.^[7] Russell Stover candies are sold in nearly 40 company-owned retail stores and through 70,000 wholesale accounts in more than 20 countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company manufactures nearly 100 million pounds of chocolate annually.