Sanders Plans New Candy Parlors

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI-While the past couple of decades have been as bumpy for the company as one of its beloved snack cakes, Sanders Candy says it has been enjoying success at its new store in Livonia and plans to open three more stores in the next year. The company said it has not yet decided on locations for those stores.

Last October, Sanders opened an ice cream parlor at the Laurel Park Place mall in Livonia and the company says that operation has prompted the decision to open more shops. “Our customers have always felt Sanders is more than hot fudge and candy,” says Sanders brand manager Diane Lynch. “It’s a very personal connection to their past.”

Sanders was founded in Detroit 130 years ago and was purchased two years ago by Clinton Township candy maker Morley’s. For decades, Sanders ice cream and confectionary shops were popular places around the Detroit region. The company fell on hard times in the 1980s and ’90s and went through several changes in ownership, prior to being purchased by family-run Morley in 2003.

Since then, Sanders has been reenergized with new products, new packaging and a new attitude, the company says. “We hear stories from our customers everyday,” says Ron Rapson, president of Sanders Candy. “The passion people have for the Sanders product is mind-boggling. In fact, we’ve gone back to many of the original Sanders recipes and are bringing back old fashioned favorites that customers haven’t seen in years.”