Peanut Chews’ Carl Goldenberg dies

Former Goldenberg Candy Co. executive succumbs to prostate cancer.

Carl Goldenberg

Carl Goldenberg, the third-generation patriarch of the Goldenberg Candy Co., passed away on Monday, Oct. 14. The 85-year-old candy maker had battled prostate cancer for the past 17 years, his son, David, says.

Goldenberg joined the Philadelphia-based family confectionery business after graduating from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in economics in 1950. Following a four-year stint in the Air Force during the Korean War, Goldenberg returned to the business and began working in the production plant. He spent the next 55 years in the business, focused on providing consumers with the highest quality confectionery products.

Started in 1890 by his grandfather David, a Romanian immigrant, Goldenberg Candy Co. evolved into a midsized candy manufacturing company and a Philadelphia mainstay. It became famous for its Peanut Chews, which consisted of peanuts coated in molasses and chocolate. Introduced in 1917, Peanuts Chews eventually became the company’s most popular confection. And, the company shifted to solely producing Peanut Chews after World War II.

In 1986, Carl Goldenberg received Candy Industry’s Kettle Award, in recognition for his accomplishments as an executive and his service to the industry. The Goldenberg family sold the company to Bethlehem, Pa.-based Just Born, Inc., in 2003.

"With Carl's passing, the confectionery industry lost an icon and the city of Philadelphia lost a wonderful philanthropic partner," the Just Born company said in a statement to the Associated Press.

Goldenberg is survived by his wife of 60 years, Barbara; sons David and Samuel; five grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.

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With more than 30 years experience in B-to-B reporting, writing and editing — the bulk of which was dedicated to covering the bakery, confectionery and snack industries — Pacyniak has chronicled changes within the food industry since the early 1980s. A Boston University journalism degree graduate, he worked for a variety of publications before joining BNP Media in 1994 as editor of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine. In 2001, he took over as editor-in-chief of Candy Industry until 2018.