The very early history of McKeesport Candy Co. remains a mystery.
Founded in the early 1920s, though the precise year remains uncertain, Ernest Prince operated Keystone Kandy Co., - no relation to the Keystone Candy Co., located in Latrobe, PA - while Max Mullen owned M.Mullen & Company. As to whom "& Company" refers to remains unknown.
The two wholesale candy and tobacco "jobbers", were conveniently located mere blocks from each other in McKeesport, PA.
By a delightful turn of fate, Ernest and Max each married a sister, and their astute wives persuaded them to merge their talents. Max, with his exceptional sales flair, and Ernest, great with details, made a formidable team.
The establishment of McKeesport Candy Co. in 1926, followed by its official incorporation in 1927, marked a significant milestone in the Western Pennsylvania wholesale candy industry.
During the "War Years" of 1939-45, the company uniquely pivoted to manufacturing and produced cough drops, operating under the Gerald Stewart Company, a tribute to Ernest's son, born in 1929.
The newly formed company, although short lived, successfully provided enough cough drops to meet military requirements and collaborated on sugar rations with Brach's Confections, fostering a lasting friendship and partnership.
After the untimely passing of Ernest Prince in 1959, the Mullen and Prince families continued to grow and oversee the company until the late 1980s when Sid Mullen retired. Today, the legacy lives on with Jon Prince representing the third—and a half—generation of family ownership!
Our initial website, McKandy.com, inadvertently paid tribute to Ernest's original 'Kandy' business.
Little did they know, their fledgling enterprise would grow to be the nation's oldest wholesale candy company, proudly standing in the same McKeesport location within the "Keystone State," nearly a century on!
"The rest is history" and it still unfolding almost 100 years later!
