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Switzer's Licorice returns to market

Published: Friday, October 28, 2005 12:00 AM CDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- At a specialty licorice store in Lincoln, Neb., almost 10 percent of the customers seek a particular old-fashioned favorite by name: What, they wonder, ever became of Switzer's licorice?

"If you mention Switzer's, people's eyes will light up," said Elizabeth Erlandson, one of the owners of Licorice International Inc., a store and Internet business that bills itself as having the largest selection of gourmet licorice in the country.

"I'll tell you, it would be great to see them back in the market," she said.

That hope by licorice lovers has become a reality. Twin grandsons of the company's founder have relaunched the St. Louis-based licorice business in Missouri. They have reintroduced the candy at grocery stores in several states, as well as other businesses such as Target, Brooks, Eckerd's and Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores.

While the brothers incorporated in 2003, much of the reintroduction has come this year and stores have the licorice available for Halloween.

"Consumers today are yearning for authentic products," said Switzer Candy Co. Inc. president Michael Switzer. "We had one that was truly rooted in history, and we could bring the brand back."

Switzer said his grandfather began working at a young age, after his great-grandfather fell off a river barge and drowned. Young Frederick Switzer began selling candy along the St. Louis riverfront, including molasses candy, chocolate and taffy. He began F.M. Switzer and Company in the 1880s, and added red and chocolate licorice to its line of penny candy in 1916.

Because licorice doesn't need as much sugar as many other types of candy, the company began producing licorice exclusively during World War II due to sugar rationing. It grew in popularity.

In St. Louis, there's a Switzer's mural painted on the side of the building where the licorice used to be made. It's still there, and visible from the Gateway Arch. The Switzer's sign remains a well-known sight in the city.

Michael Switzer said his father and uncle sold the business to Beatrice in 1966, and Switzer's licorice was later made by Leaf Industries and then the Hershey Co., which discontinued the brand in the 1990s. Hershey did not return calls seeking comment.

Now that the brand is revived, the licorice is being made at a plant in Minnesota, though the company remains headquartered in St. Louis. Cherry licorice is available in an assortment of different-sized packages, with black licorice and strawberry licorice also available in the smaller packages.

The business has eight employees, not including plant workers, Switzer said, and plans to keep growing. Even a modest share of the market can mean big business.

Licorice sold in larger than 3.5-ounce packages had about $160 million in sales for the 52 weeks through Oct. 2 in the United States, up 5.8 percent from a year ago, according to the Chicago-based market research firm Information Resources Inc.

Lisbeth Echeandia, the publisher of Deerfield, Ill.,-based Confectioner, a trade magazine for retailers and wholesalers, said she expects consumers will be excited that Switzer's is available again.

"You talk to people that remember them from way back when," she said.

On the Net:

Switzer's: http://www.switzercandy.com

Licorice International: http://www.licoriceinternational.com

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