Posted on Dec 22, 2023
Russell Stover chocolates, a Kansas City tradition for 100 years, still bring holiday cheer
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The iconic Kansas City-based company is still growing, and attributes its success to the warmth and comfort people feel when they open the box and see the same candies they got from their grandmother.
Every Christmas, the seven O’Neill boys from Kansas City, Missouri, got a box of Russell Stover’s candy from their grandmother.
Neither the rectangular white box printed with the elaborate brown bow nor the flavors of each piece in a tiny brown paper cup ever changed. The boys weren’t allowed to use the map telling which candies were which flavor, so Patrick O’Neill, now 70 and the eldest, pulled rank and always picked first.
“Back off guys, I got the caramel,” he’d tell his brothers.
“But you had to find it first,” he remembers. “And in our house, every box of Russell Stover candies, you could tell what (a piece) was by just turning it over because everyone had already put a thumbnail in it to see.”
Russell Stover has been celebrating its 100th-anniversary this year, commemorating not only its longevity as an industry leader but a century of memories like O’Neill’s.
Every Christmas, the seven O’Neill boys from Kansas City, Missouri, got a box of Russell Stover’s candy from their grandmother.
Neither the rectangular white box printed with the elaborate brown bow nor the flavors of each piece in a tiny brown paper cup ever changed. The boys weren’t allowed to use the map telling which candies were which flavor, so Patrick O’Neill, now 70 and the eldest, pulled rank and always picked first.
“Back off guys, I got the caramel,” he’d tell his brothers.
“But you had to find it first,” he remembers. “And in our house, every box of Russell Stover candies, you could tell what (a piece) was by just turning it over because everyone had already put a thumbnail in it to see.”
Russell Stover has been celebrating its 100th-anniversary this year, commemorating not only its longevity as an industry leader but a century of memories like O’Neill’s.
Russell Stover chocolates, a Kansas City tradition for 100 years, still bring holiday cheer
Posted from kcur.orgPosted in these groups: 
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Kansas City
Posted 4 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."But like so many others, Elbow feels nostalgic about Russell Stover’s candy. His own grandmother always had it around, he said. The company gave chocolate mass appeal, he said, and carved out a space for niche chocolatiers like him.
“I don’t think I would have the opportunity to do what I do today if it had not not been for them,” he said.
Russell Stover, purchased by Swiss candy conglomerate Lindt & Sprungli in 2014, saw growth of 10% last year, approaching a half billion dollars in sales. That’s a lot of chocolate Santas, bunnies and hearts.
“Russell Stover still maintains its DNA,” Khattak said. “It’s an iconic American brand. We’re true to quality products and to our assortment, so it hasn’t changed, at all.”
..."But like so many others, Elbow feels nostalgic about Russell Stover’s candy. His own grandmother always had it around, he said. The company gave chocolate mass appeal, he said, and carved out a space for niche chocolatiers like him.
“I don’t think I would have the opportunity to do what I do today if it had not not been for them,” he said.
Russell Stover, purchased by Swiss candy conglomerate Lindt & Sprungli in 2014, saw growth of 10% last year, approaching a half billion dollars in sales. That’s a lot of chocolate Santas, bunnies and hearts.
“Russell Stover still maintains its DNA,” Khattak said. “It’s an iconic American brand. We’re true to quality products and to our assortment, so it hasn’t changed, at all.”
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