Butterfinger gets sales boost as Ferrara Candy revamps former Nestle brands
After years of declining sales, it was time to lay a finger on Butterfinger.
The iconic candy bar, with its bright orange filling and familiar "nobody lay a finger on my Butterfinger" ad campaign, has experienced a sales turnaround since relaunching early this year with a new recipe and a new look, according to executives at Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Ferrara Candy.
It is among several legacy brands getting a reboot since Ferrara's parent company, Italy's Ferrero Group, purchased Nestle's U.S. confectionary business last year, helping reinforce Chicago's reputation as the nation's candy-making capital.
The Nestle purchase more than doubled the portfolio of Chicago-born Ferrara, best known for its Black Forest gummy bears and Trolli and Brach hard candies, by giving it control of an additional 20 big-name brands including Butterfinger, Crunch, Baby Ruth, Raisinets, Nerds and SweeTarts.
Ferrara, which took over the Chicago-area Nestle factories where many of those candies are made, has been introducing new
