NECCO- Massachusetts, USA

NECCO^® Headquarters in Revere, MA (USA)

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has always been one of my favorite movies. The only thing that agitates me while watching this film is the children who just can’t control themselves; they get into life threatening trouble and are ultimately removed from the factory. I never understood why they couldn’t exhibit some self-control during their visit. After visiting the NECCO^® (New England Confectionary Company) candy factory in Revere, Massachusetts, I now understand why it was so easy for those children to throw away their inhibitions. The candy is everywhere along with delicious temptation; it is certainly difficult to restrain yourself from taking those forbidden bites!

NECCO^® is one of the oldest candy factories in the United States. It began in 1847 as a product of the Industrial Revolution, when one of the company’s founders, Oliver R. Chase, invented the first American candy machine, a lozenge cutter, to create what is today known as NECCO^® Wafers. These quarter-sized treats come in a variety of fruity and chocolate flavors that melt into a powdery paste when consumed.

Since building the first candy machine in the US, the company has grown tremendously and is the maker of several different treats, including Candy Buttons, Clark Bars^®, Haviland® Thin Mints, Mary Janes®, Skybars®, Squirrel Nut Zippers®, and a Valentines Day favorite, Sweethearts®. Walking through the factory can only be described as entering a candy land of sugary desire. Each room surprises your olfactory senses with a blast of flavor-scent (sugar, caramel, chocolate, mint). The rooms are also equipped with giant candy-making machines that, if placed in any other setting, could easily be mistaken for a printing press (which in the case of the Sweethearts^®, it almost is) or textile machine.

Skybar^® Machine

I spent two hours in the NECCO^® factory and was graciously given a tour by Jeff, who works for the company’s Research and Development division. Jeff has been working at NECCO for 30 years, and knows each and every machine like the back of his hand. During my tour, Jeff explained how one machine (approximately the size of 10 Hummers) produces the world’s order of Skybars^®.

Skybars^® are one of New England’s favorite chocolates, and have been since their invention in 1938. They were the first chocolates in America to have four distinct flavors embedded in four different chocolate shells: fudge, caramel, peanut, and vanilla nougat. Each flavor is made and stored in a large vat within the factory, and is then piped into the Skybar^® machine.

The final step in making Skybar® is packaging.

The process of creating the Skybar^® begins with a chocolate mold. The mold is placed on the machine’s assembly line where it is filled with chocolate and then shaken up to remove any air-bubbles. The shell is then lifted to a cooling area within the machine to harden, and then lowered to be filled with the four different flavors. The next step in the process involves covering the filling with chocolate, thus, completing the candy shell. The chocolate is again lifted into a cooling area to harden, and then lowered, where it is shaved of excess chocolate. Afterwards, the candy bar is moved to a packaging area where NECCO^® staff move each candy bar into its package and seal it. The bars are then packaged into boxes and shipped to various locations world-wide. This entire process takes approximately 1 hour.

This was one of the closest looks I got at the candy-making process, aside from when Jeff helped me make chocolate Frankensteins for next Halloween! (I'll continue without the filling details so that I don't give too much away!)

Made with tremendous help from Jeff!

The company spends the two weeks after each major holiday finalizing plans for celebratory confections for the following year. That means that NECCO^® has already completed its plans for Valentines Day 2012 (as evidenced by the mounds of popular Sweethearts^® waiting to be shipped, and still being processed). 

And there's PLENTY more where those Sweethearts® came from!

Although Sweethearts^® are made all year round, they usually sell-out in the six weeks before Valentines Day! While their popularity has not changed, the messages that are imposed on each little treat certainly have. (NECCO^® has kept up with the times by asking customers to report what they would like to see written on their candy hearts.) And because NECCO^® is so organized, they even have some wiggle-room to experiment with different variations of their favorite candies. For instance, right now, NECCO^® is testing out different sized candy hearts.

Polishing the blue and yellow malted milk balls.

NECCO^® is currently finalizing their shipments for Easter 2012. Here you can see how they are coloring their Mighty Malts^® Malted Milk Balls in different pastel shades, just for the season. 

But the company doesn’t just make candies specific to the season. They also make candies that are popular year-round, like their Haviland^® Thin Mints, which are also the product of a large and efficient machine. The process of making thin mints is less arduous than making SkyBars^®, since fewer ingredients are needed. Essentially, the creamy minty center is made and squeezed into perfect discs from a machine, onto a conveyor belt. The mints are then covered in chocolate as they continue along their route, and packaged into individual boxes. 

Thin mints before chocolate covering.

Thin mints covered in chocolate.

The Haviland^® nonpareils are created in a similar fashion. First, the NECCO original-recipe chocolate is piped into individual discs onto a conveyor belt. The chocolate is then covered in generous amounts of tiny pearl sprinkles. As the nonpareils continue along the conveyor belt, the excess sprinkles are vacuumed up, leaving only perfect little mountains of chocolate and sugar behind. 

 

Pre-sprinkled nonpareils.

Sprinkle-covered nonpareils.

Completed nonpareils.

Not only is the factory a fun building to tour, with creative concoctions in every room, but it is also an immaculate work place. The work stations are organized and every instrument has its place and purpose. The staff are passionate about their roles at NECCO and are happy to imagine new treats on a regular basis. When asked what his favorite NECCO candy was, my guide, Jeff, responded, “Favorite? They’re all great. In fact, all candy is great. It tastes good and it makes people happy.”

I’m sure I don’t only speak for myself when I say that the NECCO factory and its candies certainly continue to make me smile. 

I'm beginning to get used to this look...