Ferrara Candy Company Announces Headquarters Move to Chicago

Company to bring 400 jobs to the Old Post Office by late summer 2019

On December 6, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and World Business Chicago President and CEO Andrea Zopp joined the Ferrara Candy Company to announce that the company is relocating its headquarters to the Old Post Office in downtown Chicago, bringing 400 jobs to the city. The new headquarters will occupy 77,000 square feet at in the building at 433 W. Van Buren Street, giving the company access to Chicago’s top talent across many business segments. Earlier this year, Walgreens announced

“We are not just welcoming 400 new jobs to Chicago, we are welcoming a great company with deep roots in Chicago back home,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Chicago not only leads the country in corporate relocations every year for the last five years, but we lead the country in the growth of jobs in the food industry. We are glad that a company that had been part of Chicago’s past will now be part of our city’s future.”

We are not just welcoming 400 new jobs to Chicago, we are welcoming a great company with deep roots in Chicago back home. Chicago not only leads the country in corporate relocations every year for the last five years, but we lead the country in the growth of jobs in the food industry. We are glad that a company that had been part of Chicago’s past will now be part of our city’s future.

– Mayor Rahm Emanuel

Ferrara was founded in 1908 when Salvatore Ferrara began selling candy-coated almonds from his bakery in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood. Over the past century, Ferrara Candy Company has become one of the fastest growing confections companies in the country, with a diverse portfolio of more than 25 brands, including SweeTARTS®, Trolli®, Brach’s®, Black Forest®, and NERDS®, along with iconic favorites like Lemonhead®, Red Hots®, and Now and Later®.

“Chicago’s central location, connectivity, and unparalleled talent base make it a global hub for business and the U.S. leader in food manufacturing GRP and employment,” said Andrea Zopp, president and CEO of World Business Chicago. “We are thrilled to welcome Ferrara Candy Company back to Chicago where their success story began over 100 years ago, joining other major food companies like McDonald’s Corporation, Conagra and ADM who recently made the city their home.”

“Chicago’s central location, connectivity, and unparalleled talent base make it a global hub for business and the U.S. leader in food manufacturing GRP and employment. We are thrilled to welcome Ferrara Candy Company back to Chicago where their success story began over 100 years ago, joining other major food companies like McDonald’s Corporation, Conagra and ADM who recently made the city their home.”

-Andrea Zopp, president and CEO of World Business Chicago

Ferrara will begin to relocate more than 400 employees from its current headquarters in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. late next summer.

“As we planned our move downtown, we sought a workspace that could accommodate our continued growth and help us build a highly differentiated and meaningful employee experience that allows us to continue to attract, retain and inspire best-in-class talent,” said Todd Siwak, CEO of Ferrara Candy Company.

“The Old Post Office will be more than just a workspace – it will be a destination, and one that is consistent with the brand, culture, and community we are building at Ferrara,” said Siwak. “We appreciate Mayor Emanuel’s encouragement and the continued support from the City of Chicago as we prepare for this transition.”

The Ferrara Candy Company’s announcement marks the 63rd food and beverage company to relocate or expand in Chicago, and the tenth food and beverage headquarter relocation since 2011.

Since Mayor Emanuel took office, Chicago has seen significant investment from many large companies in the food and beverage industry. The city is currently second largest in the nation with 4,500 companies, 130,000 employees, and $32 billion in sales. Food manufacturing accounts for the majority of the industry’s regional employment and over a third of sales.

“We are thrilled that Ferrara Candy, with its deep roots in Chicago, has returned to the city, choosing the Old Post Office as its new home. From day one, our promise has been to work with the business community and city officials to offer a uniquely vibrant, accessible, and accommodating space for Chicago’s top businesses to do the excellent work that they are known throughout the world for doing. Ferrara’s significant commitment to the Old Post Office, which will bring new jobs into Chicago, is further evidence that we all are delivering on this important mandate,” said Brian Whiting, President, The Telos Group.

Earlier in the year, Walgreens announced that it will be opening a new office in Chicago at the Old Post Office with 1,800 employees and occupying 200,000 square feet.