Fannie May’s new owner uses web site to keep brand alive

When Alpine Confections Inc. bought the rights to the Chicago-based Fannie May candy brand earlier this year after the former owner went bankrupt, it maintained FannieMay.com as a means of keeping the brand in front of customers even as the brand’s candy shops closed. While continuing with limited online sales of a few Fannie May candy selections, the site has also maintained an opt-in newsletter to let shoppers know when the full menu of candies will again become available as well as when stores will re-open later this year, a spokesman says.

“Alpine is taking great care that all the Fannie May recipes remain the same, using the same ingredients with the same suppliers,” the spokesman says, adding that consumer calls to the Alpine, UT-based company are referred to the web site and to a few grocery stores that carry selected Fannie May items in boxes carrying the web site address. “The web site is helping to keep the brand alive,” he says.