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Nassau Candy Plans $5 Million Expansion

Nassau Candy is the parent company of Top 40 supplier Chocolate Inn/Lanco.

Nassau Candy, parent company of Top 40 supplier Chocolate Inn/Lanco (asi/44900), is planning another building expansion.

The manufacturer wants to add 20,000 square feet to its headquarters and factory in Hicksville, NY. The $5 million project received tax breaks from Nassau County last week, Newsday reported.

“We’re excited to continue to expand our business on Long Island,” Lance Stier, CEO of NC Custom, the customization business for Nassau Candy, told Counselor. “The continued growth will provide continued opportunities for our associates and for additional infrastructure to support our customers.”

Chocolate Inn/Lanco is the industry’s leading manufacturer for custom promotional chocolate, mints and candy.

Nassau County’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA) agreed to include the candy company’s proposed addition in a 20-year deal in property taxes. Also, the company was granted a sales tax exemption of up to $236,224 on the purchase of construction materials and equipment for the proposed addition, as well as $222,187 off the mortgage recording tax, Newsday reported.

In return for the additional tax breaks, the company has promised to increase its job commitment from 363 to 400 in the county. “We want the company to grow,” said Richard Kessel, chairman of Nassau County’s IDA. “It provides good job opportunities.”

In 2010, Nassau Candy acquired longtime industry supplier Chocolate Inn. In 2017, Nassau Candy acquired supplier Lanco and took the company from imminent closure to a thriving second act.

Nassau Candy was founded in 1920 as a supplier to soda fountains in New York City. Stier’s father, Les, and his uncle Barry, entrepreneurs in their own right, bought the company in 1984, distributing specialty confectionery products to local shops. Over the past 35 years, Les and Barry, whom the family calls the “first generation,” have transformed the company into a leading branded and private-label manufacturer, distributor and importer of specialty confections, gourmet and natural food products with facilities throughout the United States and a global customer base.

With reported 2018 North American promotional product revenue of $55 million, Chocolate Inn/Lanco ranked 29th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest suppliers in the industry.