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August Storck KG
Storck makes and sells candy and chocolate brands like Merci, Toffifee, and Werther's Original, and sells them in more than 100 countries.
Storck is a German candy maker that sells chocolate and sweets to shoppers around the world. You probably know it without knowing the name: it makes Merci chocolate, Toffifee, Werther's Original caramel candies, and the little fruit chews sold as nimm2. Walk down the candy aisle in dozens of countries and its brands are sitting there, usually priced as an affordable everyday treat rather than a luxury gift.
The business is simple on the surface. Storck designs the products, runs its own factories, and sells through grocery stores, drugstores, and discount chains. Shoppers pay a few euros or dollars for a bag or box, the retailer takes its cut, and Storck keeps the rest after paying for ingredients, packaging, factories, and marketing. Its edge comes from brands people recognize and trust, plus the scale to make them cheaply. That is why a family-owned company from a small German town can compete with giants like Mondelez International, Mars, and Ferrero without being anywhere near their size. Storck is unusual because it has stayed private and family-controlled for over a century, founded in 1903 and still run by descendants of the founder. That means no stock market pressure and no quarterly earnings calls. The company can think in decades, keep recipes and factories in-house, and expand quietly into new countries. It does not chase trends with endless new products; it builds a few brands and keeps them alive for generations. Werther's Original, for example, has been sold since the 1960s and still shows up in checkouts worldwide. The trade-off of being private is that money for growth comes from its own profits rather than outside investors. Storck reinvests into factories, new markets, and product tweaks, and it has gradually pushed into Asia and the Americas. It stays out of the spotlight, rarely publishes detailed financials, and lets the candy do the talking. That low profile is deliberate, and it has kept the family in control through wars, currency crises, and the rise of discount retailing.
What makes Storck strong is also what makes it vulnerable. Its brands are familiar and cheap to produce, but candy is a slow-growing, heavily competitive business where private-label copies and health-conscious shoppers squeeze margins. Storck's answer has been to lean on nostalgia and dependable quality rather than flashy innovation. It is a quiet, profitable machine built on small pleasures — a caramel, a chocolate square, a chewy fruit sweet — sold by the billions.
Saved answer · last researched 14 Nov 2026
BIG PICTURE
Storck scores 84 out of 100 for brand strength, but AI assistants barely trust it
- 84% Storck brand score
- 16% Points left off a perfect 100
On a 100-point brand-strength scale, August Storck lands at 84, a Strong Brand tier among more than 7,600 food and drink brands. That puts its name recognition close to rivals like Haribo. Yet its AI trust score is just 26 out of 100, meaning assistants rarely cite the maker of Merci and Werther's when shoppers ask for candy advice. Source: dataease.ai Brand Analyzer, data from 2026
Timeline
A Small Candy Factory in Werther
In 1903, August Storck started a little candy factory in the German town of Werther, with just three workers making sweets for nearby shops. That tiny operation became the root of the company known today as August Storck KG.
One Candy Instead of Two Hundred
By the 1930s the company was making more than two hundred different candies, which spread its resources thin. Hugo Oberwelland made a bold call: cut almost everything and pour the whole business into a single product, the 1 Pfennig RIESEN. It was Germany's first branded, individually wrapped candy with a fixed price, so it stood out from loose bulk candy and kept the company steady through the Depression.
Vitamins in a Candy
In 1962 Storck launched nimm2, one of the world's first candies with added vitamins. It became Germany's most popular children's candy and sold in more than forty countries, proving the company could build brands that travelled.
A Second Generation Takes Over
Klaus Oberwelland took charge in 1971, the second handover in the family. Under him, new brands, a new logo and expansion abroad kept the company growing.
Buying a German Rival
In 1981 Storck made its first acquisition, buying German rival Dickmann. It relaunched the brand as Super Dickmann, adding a big foam-kiss name to its lineup.
The Milk and Hazelnut Wafer
Two years later came Knoppers, a wafer packed with milk and hazelnut. The new snack bar soon turned into a breakfast favourite.
A British Mint Maker
In 1988 Storck bought Bendicks of Mayfair, a British mint chocolate producer based in Winchester. The deal gave the company a stronger foothold in the United Kingdom.
A New Factory in the East
After German reunification, Storck opened a production site in Ohrdruf in Thuringia in 1993. It grew into the company's largest and most modern factory, with a focus on chocolate.
A Fourth Generation at the Top
In 2003 Axel Oberwelland took control of the globally operating company, the fourth generation of family leadership. He pushed international growth further and gave the firm a new logo and the slogan 'Storck – Part of Your World'.
Throat Lozenges Join the Portfolio
In 2005 Storck bought the naming rights to the Rachengold and Atemgold brands from the Karlsruhe firm Ragolds. The deal added established throat-lozenge brands to the mix.
A New Logistics Centre
In 2023 Storck built a new logistics centre near the A33 and added a new access road to its factory. The change keeps arriving trucks out of Halle and supports the growing main plant.