Last updated on June 13th, 2024
NECCO’s Sky Bar Candy Bar brand has been purchased by the owner of Duck Soup, a gourmet food store in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
New England Confectionery Company (NECCO), a candy company with roots going back to 1847, went out of business last year, and its assets were split up and sold, some of them at auction. Most of the candy brands were sold to established confectioners, but there was no news of the outcome or whereabouts of the Sky Bar. Fans of the candy bar assumed it was gone forever and have been buying up the remaining stock online.
“Like so many others, I was watching the evolving events at NECCO with dismay. I couldn’t believe that Sky Bar would never be produced again,” said Louise Mawhinney, owner of Duck Soup, who placed the winning bid at auction for the bar. “I placed a bid, and I must admit I was stunned to suddenly become the owner of the brand. However, we believe we have found a way to start small-batch production and make Sky Bar available once more. It’s very exciting. While we have not yet finalized all the details, we hope that we will be able to produce the Sky Bar that everyone knows and loves.”
Duck Soup has been working with Jeff Green, formerly NECCO’s VP of research and development, and a 33-year NECCO veteran.
“I was very glad to connect with Louise as I thought that Sky Bar would be gone forever. There’s so much history associated with the bar, and it definitely has an existing fan base,” said Green.
“Thanks to Jeff, we have a plan for production. Our goal is to be up and running later this year. We will keep everyone posted as events unfold,” said Mawhinney.
Introduced by NECCO in 1938, Sky Bar’s technological innovation was the four distinctly different centers—caramel, vanilla, peanut and fudge. Sky Bar was produced by NECCO until May 2018.
Established in 1971 in Sudbury as a contemporary general store, Duck Soup is known for proprietary coffee blends and curated wine and cheese selections. In addition, Duck Soup also carries kitchenware, craft liquors, international foods and a wide selection of chocolate and candy. More recently, Duck Soup began offering cooking classes and rolled out a line of baked goods called Kiff.
