Chapter 8

Changing Times

Merriam-Webster defines evolution as “a process of change in a certain direction.”⁶³ That forward movement continued to mark the growth of Hammond’s Candies when it faced its most momentous transformation in 1997 with its purchase by the West Indies Candy Company. New owners Bob List and Linda Fasano were attracted to Hammond’s reputation as the manufacturer of some of the finest hard candies in the country; Ralph Nafziger, who also came on board at that time, says that his association with the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company, coupled with his accounting background, made him a natural fit for the new venture. He says that he entered the “tasty world of confectionary products in about 1990 and hasn’t looked back.”⁶⁴

There was a certain irony that the candy canes, lollies and cut rock products that had propelled Carl Sr.’s development of his family business now served as a magnet for outside investors. Emery Dorsey’s reputation as a master candy maker added to the enticement. “Without Emery, we wouldn’t have bought the company,” said List. “He is the expert, and this type of candy-making is certainly a skill.”⁶⁵

As the new owners took over management, one of the most noticeable changes was the increase of the payroll, as the number of employees increased from four full-time people and one part-time person to sixty employees by 2002. Sales doubled, tripled and almost quadrupled, swelling from $300,000 in 1997 and crossing the $1 million mark in 1998. However, most visible, especially to drivers traveling along Denver’s Colorado Boulevard, was the new sign atop a bright pink building decorated with a gigantic candy cane and three multicolored lollipops. Hammond’s, long a feature of North Denver, had outgrown its second home and moved to a more centrally located spot.

Vice-president of finance and administration Ralph Nafziger, one of the original purchasers of the company from the Hammond family. Photo by Michael Scalisi.

Nafziger, who still serves Hammond’s today as vice-president of finance and administration, reiterates that, although the new management made many changes in the business practices, they knew better than to tinker with the methods and recipes that were the foundation of the firm’s success. Another kudo underscoring this credo came from a spokesperson from Williams-Sonoma, which had been featuring Hammond’s confections for many years: “All the candy from Hammond’s is exquisite and delicious. It’s almost like little works of art.”⁶⁶

In fact, Nafziger says that Williams-Sonoma’s business was so important that it practically paid the overhead. For several years, Hammond’s sold its English toffee to the chain, adding such goodies as dark chocolate with pecans, milk chocolate with almonds and white chocolate with macadamia nuts. The store sold the toffees in one-pound tins, with one-third of each flavor sold per package. Hammond’s maintained the same proportion in its sales, since toffee accounted for one million when total sales hit three million.

A tray of cones that will be used in forming candy cane trees. Photo by the author.

An assistant deftly wraps the pliant rope to form the candy cane trees. Photo by the author.

Other nationally known vendors and giants of the gourmet food industry were highlighting Hammond’s confections, including Dean and DeLuca, Vermont Country Store and Martha Stewart, who began to decorate her gingerbread houses with the art candies.⁶⁷ Hammond’s also enhanced its reputation by becoming known for its ability to exceed special requests. But it is important to note that, despite the overhaul of business practices, small shops throughout the nation continued to repeat their orders year after year. Other changes that gradually occurred involved more sophisticated computerization of files and databases—certainly more efficient but much less colorful than the ledgers of Carl Hammond’s early days, when the entries, as well as the confections, were created by hand. In 1999, the Denver Business Journal heralded the company as “Denver’s Candy Kings.”⁶⁸

Another commitment the trio made to further ensure growth was to move toward year-round Christmas candy production. To this end, Hammond’s made a long-term capital investment in a humidity-controlled storage space, thus making it possible to produce candies in February and sell them, still fresh, during the holiday season. With the publicity that the website engendered, this also became a practical necessity.

One of the greatest contributions that List, Fasano and Nafziger made to Hammond’s Candies was their realization that a recognizable website had become key to business. The world had grown far beyond Yellow Pages and telephone directories, and the desire for instantaneous information gripped consumers. In order to stay current with its competition, Hammond’s needed to upgrade its technological appeal. During the 2000 holiday season, Hammond’s inaugurated television segments on the Food Network, and the resulting increase in orders swamped the sales force and bogged down phone and fax lines. Hammond’s had truly entered the twenty-first century.⁶⁹

In 2004, Hammond’s moved from the factory on Colorado Boulevard to its current thirty-five-thousand-square-foot facility at 5725 North Washington Street. Just a few blocks north of I-70 and east of I-25, the new location has made the company more accessible for employees, salespeople and visitors to the popular tours.