Smarties Candy Company, located at 1091 Lousons Road is a hidden gem has been in Union for 48 years, since 1967. They have been in operation since 1949 under their President Jonathan Dee.
Smarties Candy Company is owned and operated by three generations of the Dee family. On January 10, 1949, Edward "Eddie" Dee brought his family from England to New Jersey. Equipped with only two machines in a rented facility, he succeeded in founding Ce De Candy, Inc., makers of Smarties®, America's favorite candy wafer roll. Eddie opened his first factory in Bloomfield, New Jersey in August, 1949. He proceeded to move the company to Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1959 and finally to Union, New Jersey in 1967 which is one of two factories that makes the candy 24 hours a day. On January 1, 2011, the company changed its name from Ce De Candy, Inc. to Smarties Candy Company.
Smarties Candy Company supports a wide variety of charities and educational organizations. In 2013, Smarties Candy Company launched its “Smarties Think” initiative to empower students to be “smarties” themselves.
Additionally, Smarties Candy Company receives far more candy donation requests for worthy causes than would be possible to fulfill. Every year, they allot a certain amount of candy for donations, and try to focus their donations to requests from within the nearby New Jersey community.
Smarties are tamper evident, fat free, gluten-free, peanut-free, free of top allergens and free of animal products. One original Smarties roll is only 25 calories.
Photo: Mayor Figueiredo, Elizabeth Dee, Sarah Dee & Jessica Dee Sawyer.