Everyone has a favorite from their childhood that maybe they haven’t seen for a few years. For me, not so much a personal favorite, but Coffee Nips remind me of my grandparents house, as my grandmother always had a stock of them.
That’s not a product you see on store shelves very often, but they are still made. When I see them, I usually take a picture and share it on social media or on the family group text.
“Candy is childhood, the best and the shining moments you wish could last forever,” Candy Bar creator Dylan Lauren wrote in her book “Dylan’s Candy Bar: Unwrap Your Sweet Life.”
Many people associate candy with childhood, and Primrose Candy Company manufactures many candies that evoke nostalgia. The 98-year-old company may not be as well-known as Hershey’s or M&M Mars, but its hard candy, taffy, and flavored popcorn have been sold nationally for decades.
Now, the company has been forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Founded in 1928, Primrose Candy Co. has been operating for nearly a century, producing hard candy, taffy, and flavored popcorn. It operates a factory in Chicago and outsources some business to a factory in China.
Like many smaller US candy manufacturers, it has faced consistent pressure from higher domestic sugar costs and competition from lower-priced imports, leading to consolidation or relocation of production.
“Primrose Candy Co., a Chicago-based manufacturer of non-chocolate candy products, filed for chapter 11 protection on January 27, 2026, in the Northern District of Illinois. The company is seeking to restructure its financial obligations while maintaining its manufacturing presence in the Midwest,” according to a post by RK Consulting on X, the former Twitter.
Chapter 11 filing for Primrose Candy Co. was confirmed on PacerMonitor and reported by Bondoro, detailing assets valued between $1 million and $10 million and liabilities of $10 million to $50 million.
“As of 2026, the company continues to operate a 130,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Chicago, although it has recently faced significant headwinds including the loss of two key lemon drop production contracts worth approximately $1 million per year,” according to RK Consulting’s post.
The company blamed those losses on “lower-cost foreign competition.”
“In addition, the company managed liabilities related to a biometric privacy agreement of $125,000 in relation to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) that reached a fairness hearing in July 2025,” it added.
Primrose has been operating for almost 100 years.Shutterstock” loading=”lazy” height=”540″ width=”960″ class=”yf-lglytj loader”/>
Primrose has been operating for almost 100 years.Shutterstock ·Shutterstock
Carmen Ortiz filed a class action suit alleging that Primrose Candy Co. collected the fingerprints of its employees without making the disclosure and receiving the written consent required by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
The company denied and continues to deny the allegations. In the case an agreement was reached.
More Failure:
“Without admitting any fault or liability, and in exchange for a release of all claims related to the collection of biometric information, the Defendant has agreed to make up to $125,000.00 (available to pay the Settlement Class Members, to pay a service award to the Plaintiff for serving as a “Class Representative,” to pay the Class’ attorneys and administrations to the attorneys and Class costs,” costs,” according to a website dedicated to the solution.
After deducting expenses, the net amount each Settlement Class Member will receive is projected to be $803.
Here is a snapshot of Primrose Candy’s financial situation and bankruptcy filing, as reported by official sources. The filings highlight how a company beloved for nostalgic sweets, including many hard candies, is navigating financial pressures while trying to maintain its decades-long legacy.
Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois on January 27, 2026.
The company is a Manufacturer of hard candy, caramel, and popcorn based in Chicago with operations dating back to 1928.
Estimated assets: Between $1 million and $10 million
Estimated liabilities: Between $10 million and $50 million
Creditors’ expectations: The notes of the presentation funds available to be distributed to unsecured creditorsindicating that the case is not a no assets or liquidation only scenario at this stage.
Lawyer: David K. Welch gave Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, PC
Status: This Chapter 11 filing puts the company in a court-supervised reorganization process aimed at debt restructuring while potentially allowing operations to continue — rather than immediate liquidation. Source: Bondoro
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Sugar prices and foreign competition presented challenges for lesser-known American candy brands. Hershey and M&M Mars face the same problems, but their scale and brand names give them an edge over smaller rivals.
According to data analyzed by the Sweetener Users Association based on USDA figures, US sugar prices were about 105% higher than global sugar prices in 2023 — ie US prices were more than double the world price.
“Not only am I competing with unfair trade laws with places like Europe, but I’m also now having to buy ingredients that sometimes cost twice as much,” said Tess Albanese with Albanese Confectionery Group Inc. to Manufacturing.net.
“Untie my hand behind his back and let me fight fair […] We have to level the playing field so that my family can go out there and we can create jobs, and we can win on a national and international level.”
Sugar prices are still an ongoing problem for the industry.
“We just found that it was better to pay more for sugar and pass it on to the consumer than to be completely sugar-free,” said Kirk Vashaw, chief executive officer of Dum Dums lollipop maker Spangler Candy Co. Cato.org. “And there are many other companies that I think have thought the same thing.”
Sugar prices have forced some American confectioners to relocate their operations.
“These are not isolated examples. In recent decades, many companies have packed for Mexico and even Canada to get this critical ingredient at competitive prices. As the president of one such firm said, ‘I’m just tired of paying welfare to Big Sugar,'” Cato.org shared.
Related: 106-year-old retailer closes all stores in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
This story was originally published by TheStreet on January 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.