RICHARDSON BRANDS FAMILY OF PRODUCTS
Richardson Brands is known across America for the development of soft, tender, high quality pillow mints that have graced the dining tables of homes and restaurants since 1893.  Through the years, Richardson’s chocolate filled candy covered mints have become the preeminent ‘thank you’ used by thousands of fine dining establishments throughout the U.S.A. to show customers appreciation for their patronage.

Through both organic growth and acquisition, Richardson Brands has expanded to offer a selection of fine, highly recognizable nostalgic favorites.   Gravymaster® Browning and Seasoning Sauce, Dryden & Palmer® Rock Candy, Beechies® Gum and Bogdon® Old Fashioned Candy Sticks® are included in our portfolio of delectable delights.

All of Richardson’s brands carry a long heritage of quality and staying power:  Dryden & Palmer was introduced in 1880, Richardson Mints in 1893, Gravymaster in 1935, Beechies in 1936, and Bogdon in 1945.   2011 and beyond brings new flavors, line extensions and very contemporary usage for Richardson’s nostalgia brands.  

  • Dryden & Palmer Rock Candy is now available in a “swizzle stick” size, in popular and complementary flavors designed to “rock your drink!” for favorite alcoholic beverages as well as coffees and teas.
  • Gravymaster, well known as a flavor and color enhancer for gravies, is now popular as an ingredient in marinades and glazes, particularly for outdoor barbecuing.  It’s also used extensively for flavoring stews and soups, as well as to add an appetizing “roasted” color to meats cooked in the microwave.   Gravymaster fans have discovered even more creative uses:  it adds unique and distinct flavoring to cream cheese based dips and spreads; and creates a delightful Bloody Mary.
  • Bogdon Old-Fashioned Candy Sticks – a tasty combination of a crunchy candy stick dipped in chocolate -  Bogdon Sticks are a treat all by themselves, but are also a hit with ice cream, to decorate cakes and other desserts, and stirred into hot chocolate, espresso-style drinks, and cream-based bar drinks.  They are also elegant enough to be served at weddings and other special celebrations – hence the name of one Bogdon product line, “Reception Sticks.”  Just when you think it couldn’t get any better, they are only 17 calories per stick!
  • Beechies Gum – a childhood favorite, will once again be available for sale on-line; in tiny 2-count boxes, that you can have specially printed with photographs and sayings to commemorate your favorite events like graduations and birthdays.

By early 2011, all of our brands will be produced at the company’s headquarters, in historic Canajoharie, New York, 40 miles west of Albany.  The village, which was incorporated in 1829, began as a thriving market town on the Erie Canal; and has been a center of manufacturing and the arts for nearly two centuries.  Its name is Iroquois, and means “the pot that washes itself,” after a beautiful, geological pot-shaped feature in the Canajoharie Creek of the Mohawk River. 
An integral part of Richardson’s longer term vision is to become the pre-eminent employer in Canajoharie.  The village was decimated by the 2006 flooding of the Mohawk River, and further depressed by the recent departure of a manufacturing company that was its largest employer for over 130 years.  Richardson is committed to expanding its operations in Canajoharie, and to work with local and state officials to restore the economic vitality of this historic community.  Richardson has plenty of room to grow in Canajoharie, where its 180,000 square foot facility proudly carries the State of New York’s coveted Good Manufacturing Practices Seal of Approval (GMP), as well as a superior rating, the highest awarded by AIB (American Institute of Baking) International.

Taste the difference, from brands that have stood the test of time.

RICHARDSON MINTS
Richardson’s signature pillow mints have been cooked in kettles and cured to perfection, almost since their inception in 1893.  Thomas D Richardson first began selling his home-made mints at the counter of a department store in Philadelphia.  Richardson and his two sons soon incorporated, and began commercial production of soft sugar mints as we know them today.

Richardson Mints’ quality is superior to competition because they go through a unique manufacturing process that results in a smoother, lighter mint with a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture and a refreshing taste.

Richardson Mints have also played a part in history – real as well as cinematic:

  • The Beatles.  Richardson Mints were served backstage during an August 16, 1966 Beatles concert at Philadelphia’s John F. Kennedy stadium.  Legend has it that Ringo preferred the lemon jelly mints.
  • Rocky.  Starring Sylvester Stallone, this movie won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1976.  A Richardson Mints Bicentennial Tin was featured on the top of Rocky’s refrigerator in the film.

Today, they are still made using the same time tested process and recipe; always featuring the finest quality ingredients.  A favorite among restaurateurs, Richardson Mints are available in the original Pastel Mints flavor, as well as Butter Mints, Jelly Mints, and the regional favorite Anise Mints.

DRYDEN & PALMER Rock Candy

What is Rock Candy?
Rock candy is the product of the further refining by recrystallization of pure cane sugar.  In fact, it is the purest form of sugar available, because all impurities are excluded as large crystals form.  Crystal growth is based on the particular characteristics of sugar (sucrose) chemistry, and cannot be done with the various “sugar free” substitutes found in the market.

How is Rock Candy made?
Rock Candy is made by a process of crystallization, the same process that produces quartz and diamonds in nature – with a different ingredient, of course.  It is made by breaking apart the sugar (sucrose) molecular crystal lattice and then allowing it to re-form in conditions that produce larger, purer crystals.  A hot, saturated solution of cane sugar and water is poured into large tanks.  Careful supervision of the cooling process produces the larger crystals, which are then harvested as Rock Candy sticks, strings, or loose crystals.

History of Rock Candy
For centuries, Rock Candy has been recognized as having marked therapeutic and preservative qualities.  In fact, in the West, sugar was used only as a medicine or preservative until – in the middle of the 18th century - people “discovered” it made a sweet treat as well.  The earliest known date that white sugar was refined was about 200 BC, so it is probable that the further refining into what was later known as “sugre candie” was at about that time.

There are many references to what we now call Rock Candy in literature.  There are several references to it in the poems of the Persian poet Jalai-ad-Din Rumi, who lived in Turkey in the middle 1200’s.  One early English reference in 1584 seems to sum up the virtues of Rock Candy where it is quoted “White sugar is not so good for phlegume, as that which is called Sugar Candie.”  And Shakespeare, in Henry IV, (1596) referred to its therapeutic value as a throat soother for long winded talkers.

History of Dryden and Palmer Rock Candy
During the late 1800’s, there were several Rock Candy companies in the USA, including one formed in 1880 by the partnership of Charles Dryden and Noah Palmer.  These companies supplied various forms of crystals and syrups as cough-cold remedies, soda fountain syrups, and delicious confections.  In addition, vast amounts were used in saloons.  Every bar had its own creation of “Rock & Rye” (Rock Candy dissolved in rye whiskey) ostensibly, of course, to cure their patrons’ colds – or at least to make them forget they had a cold in the first place!

Many different factors caused the Rock Candy industry to change.  Both prescription and over-the-counter medicines using active ingredients became more common in the early 1900’s.  But the biggest effect on the industry was Prohibition, which made alcohol consumption illegal everywhere between 1920 – 1933.  During this time the Rock Candy industry failed, as it had become too dependent on sales to bars and saloons.  The only company to survive the drought was Dryden & Palmer.

More changes kept coming, however.  The syrup business that was a big part of the company at the end of the 19th century is almost entirely gone, as soda manufacturers switched to cheaper corn syrups.  Always a company to rise to a challenge, however, Dryden & Palmer introduced Rock Candy on a stick in the 1960’s, then flavored and colored the sugar sticks in the 1970’s.

Today Dryden & Palmer Rock Candy products can be found in all fifty states, as well as in almost every country in the world.  With an amazing range of the most popular colors, flavors, and product forms, D&P Rock Candy truly has something for Kids of all ages:  from super-cool, intense- flavored lollipops; to unique party favors in your favorite colors for special celebrations; right down to swizzle sticks or edible stirrers for your favorite beverages.

Mr. Dryden and Mr. Palmer would be astonished to see the different flavors, colors and forms of the Rock Candy we produce today, but they would easily recognize the tradition of quality and service carried forward from their time.

BOGDON’s Old Fashioned Candy Sticks
It is 1945...Elizabeth Taylor is winning hearts in National Velvet. The Egg and I tops the best seller list. The United Nations is organized and Christian Dior changes the fashion world forever with a few luxuriantly designed dresses.

And right in President Truman's home state of Missouri, Walter Bogdon is busy making his own candy history. His shop is in Kansas City. And one day that year, a customer calls to ask Walter to make something special for her wedding. Walter says, "I'll do it!" Going into the back room of his shop, he sees the copper pots he uses to cook hard candies over open flames. And he sees a big vat of chocolate bubbling in the corner. He gets an idea. He wants this candy to be unique, memorable...and most of all, great-tasting. Why not combine two of his favorite flavors?

So, Walter Bogdon buys fresh ingredients, stirs up a batch of crisp hard candy and hand rolls it into thin, crunchy sticks. Holding each piece by its end, Walter dips the sticks almost full-length into that tempting vat of bittersweet chocolate. Just the tip of the stick was left without chocolate – so that ladies could hold the treat without staining their white gloves.  With that brilliantly simple recipe, the Bogdon's Reception Stick® is born.

Bogdon’s client loved the candies, as did her wedding guests. Others began asking Bogdon to make the sticks for them, too. Demand became so great, that Bogdon was soon shipping Bogdon’s Reception Sticks all over the country. He registered the trademark for "Reception Sticks" and obtained a design patent for the product. With his son Jon, he designed and built special machinery to mass-produce and later, to individually wrap them. Eventually, he closed his candy stores to focus on the Reception Stick business. The candy was marketed as “great for dessert or just a snack,” and “tasty with coffee or tea.” Flavors expanded to include mint, lemon, orange and cinnamon, as well as Mint Double Dips. In 1965, Reception Sticks were named Outstanding Confection by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade.

Today, Bogdon Candy Company maintains its tradition of making fine confections in the same delicious way that Walter did more than 60 years ago - over an open fire, in small 100-pound batches at a time.   Yet our time and care never slow down our ability to deliver fresh candy to you when and where you want it. We make, sell, and ship more than 100 million Candy Sticks every year!   And we’re constantly looking at new candy flavors, so we’re sure to have your favorites – for example, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate  -   for any  special occasion.  This includes your own personal special occasions – treating yourself during or after a long day.  And, hard to believe, a Bogdon Stick has only 17 calories – so you can indulge guilt-free.

Bogdon’s Candy Sticks are distributed all over the country through department stores, specialty stores and supermarkets, including Bloomingdales and Williams Sonoma.

65 years after Walter Bogdon dipped his first sticks, the dream of fine confection lives on.