Anthony-Thomas Chocolates, known for its buckeyes and other treats, is currently undergoing a 20,000 square foot expansion of its facility, which is about 65% completed as of yet. The company is renovating its current space to match its modern-day needs, and the facility renovation will create 60 jobs, bringing the company's total space to 174,000 square feet, and allowing for 35% more output over the next several years—big steps for a 5th generation family business.
We were able to talk to Nick Trifelos, national sales and marketing manager, Anthony-Thomas (as well as a 5th generation family member!) about the expansion and what it means for the company.
Liz Parker: What made you decide to expand your facility by 20,000 square feet?
Nick Trifelos: When we built our current facility in 1995, we planned to grow into it over the next 25 years. Admittedly, we timed it out perfectly because we were ready to start expanding in 2020. So this expansion is actually overdue. The pandemic delayed our initial groundbreaking, and we officially broke ground in the very beginning of 2024. By fall, our plant will be over 174,000 square feet.
The need for an addition came from growing demand for our own brand items as well as continual growth across the board. We have really shifted our focus on pushing our Anthony-Thomas Candy branded products over the past several years. And luckily for us, it has paid off! We have to be able to keep up with the demand for our peanut butter buckeyes.
LP: When will the expansion be fully completed?
NT: As of now, we are ahead of schedule, and the expansion will be finished by this September. Our renovation of existing space is underway and should be finished around the same time. While this is going on, we are building a third shell-molding production line. Our own maintenance team is making this line come to life. We are only outsourcing some of the larger stamped pieces such as the doors.
LP: How are you renovating your current space to match your modern-day needs?
NT: We are turning our upstairs cold room into a working warehouse for ingredients. This will keep items such as milk and butter right next to our kitchen which will help with efficiency. We will also be moving all of our maintenance equipment and dormant machines into our new state-of-the-art maintenance shop. This will allow space for a staging area of finished goods right next to our dock. This will also open up space in our first-floor production area to add another line bringing the production lines to 12 in total. Not only are we doing a facility revamp and expansion, but we will be buying brand new kitchen cookers, tempering units, bar wraps, and high-speed wrapping machines. Again, all of this is thanks to the growth we have seen over the last several years!
LP: Will the expansion create jobs? How much more output will it allow for?
NT: Yes! We will be adding roughly 60 jobs. Many jobs have already been filled. We are adding to our production, warehouse, and quality teams. Right now we are focusing on gaining more skilled line operators for the first and second shift.
LP: Your company is a 5th generation family-owned business. How has it changed throughout the years?
NT: Starting with just five employees, you could say things have changed a lot! We truly were a small family business back in the day. Now we have 200 employees and 13 retail locations. We are wholesaling in 37 states that we know of, and the candy we manufacture under private label spans across the USA and Canada. We have been very blessed to have the company continue to be passed down from generation to generation. Most businesses do not go past the second generation, but we plan on keeping it in the family for as long as we possibly can. Not everything has changed though! We still use some of our original recipes. The biggest changes would be advancements in technology even though some of our machines are still from our original plant on West Broad Street in Columbus, OH.
We are in the midst of making technological upgrades that have been pushed off, like upgrading our banking and fire systems. There is always something to do when you have a facility our size.
LP: What are some of your most popular confectionery products that you produce, sales-wise?
NT: Our most popular seller is our OSU licensed Peanut Butter and Chocolate Buckeyes. We have success with them all over the U.S. They are also huge sellers on Amazon. Last year we sold over 14 million buckeyes. This doesn’t include all of the ones we eat here on a daily basis! Our next biggest seller is our English Toffee. It is a very buttery almond toffee that has the perfect crunch when you bite into it. It is a great item for our wholesale division too. I prefer the English Toffee in dark chocolate, though. Other than those, the Pecan Dainties (our version of a turtle), the sea salt caramels, and the candy bars are all top sellers.
LP: What’s your favorite Anthony-Thomas product to enjoy?
NT: My favorite piece right now is our Dark Chocolate Cherry Cordial. I am starting to snack on one every day. Before this, my favorite candy we made was the chocolate creams. But everything is very good!
