Lufkin Candy Maker Is a Sweet Success
Atkinson Candy Co. in Lufkin has had only three presidents in 78 years. The recipe for Chick-o-Stick, a signature product that has nothing to do with chicken and everything to do with peanuts, has never changed. Nor have the formulas for Mint Twists, made with true peppermint extract, or Peanut Butter Bars, a crispy, crunchy, flaky classic, or Coconut Long Boys, a chewy coconut and caramel concoction.
“Quality never goes out of style,” says Eric Atkinson, president and owner.
But Atkinson Candy is not stuck in the past.
The company makes sugar-free options for customers who need or want to control their sugar intake. In 2007, Gemstone, a new line of premium hard candies, hit the market in a move Atkinson says represented “a new effort to take the high ground in quality confections.”
Atkinson is meeting the challenges of competing with larger U.S. companies and overseas candy makers by sticking with the classics it does well, adding new products and expanding to include a factory in Guatemala.
“We are going to go where we can get business back,” Atkinson says.
The company is preparing to add 25,000 square feet to its existing 100,000-square- foot facility, an expansion that may add 30 people to a workforce of about 200.
“Our production flow is completely maxed out,” Atkinson says.
Atkinson’s roots are local, but its reach is broad. The company sells candy in every U.S. state and several foreign countries. It produces to order, and customers include most major supermarket chains and “just about every place that sells candy,” Atkinson says.
And high quality doesn’t come with a high price. “We make candy for the people,” Atkinson says.
