History
The Manufacturing Confectioner was first published as The Candy Manufacturer in 1921 out of its office in the Chicago Stock Exchange building at 30 North LaSalle Street. Founded by Earl R. Allured, the magazine had what was, at that time, an innovative focus: to provide advanced information on production, management, economics, raw materials, marketing and other topics vital to the confectionery industry. Earl had previously worked for five years in the advertising department of Candy & Ice Cream. However, he noticed the industry was lacking something, and thus his vision was born: to create a magazine which was uniquely devoted to the more technical aspects of candy production and sales.
Earl wanted to help the industry broaden its perspective from just manufacturing to work cooperatively with related industries such as packaging, baking and raw materials suppliers. His was not just a one-man venture. He rallied the presidents in these various industries to share their knowledge and to work towards the greater good of the industry. Earl was a man of vision and enthusiasm. Early series on coloring, textures and inversions of sugar were indicative of the highly technical articles readers would come to know and expect. In addition to being a businessman, Earl was also an artist. While he was meeting with a prospective advertiser, he would often design the ad right on the spot. He could immediately get his approval and then go run the ad. Thus he was much attuned to the needs of the client and to delivering his product with a high level of service.
Prudence Walker helped Earl establish his newly launched magazine, and they married in 1923. From the start, she was a steady presence in the company.
Prior to joining MC Publishing, she already had a significant amount of business experience. She was the first woman to receive a degree in Economics and Business Administration from Colorado College in 1916. Following her graduation she worked in the law department of Swift & Company, served as editor of a monthly bulletin for the American Library Association and edited the first directory for the Illinois Manufacturers Association.
Just ten years after the publication’s founding, in 1931, Earl passed away suddenly of a heart attack. Prudence then assumed the leadership of the young magazine. Taking ownership of a budding company posed a challenge for a widow with three young children, particularly in that era. Prudence, however, was no ordinary woman. Indeed, Adolph Goelitz, vice president of the company at the time, expressed “complete confidence in her ability to conduct the affairs of the company in a manner which will more than merit the confidence and respect of those whom it has been our privilege to serve.”
Prudence quickly gained the respect and trust of many of the people who were engaged in research and other technical areas. Their findings and ideas were published in her magazine. To aid in advancing science in the industry, she encouraged candy and raw materials scientists to put their knowledge into articles and books. She helped plan the first confectionery sales and distribution analysis issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Before businesses in the United States commonly thought about selling outside the country, Prudence worked to produce a truly global publication. In 1931, Prudence founded the Candy Buyers’ Directory, which lists wholesale candy manufacturers in North America, along with the brands and products they produce. This resource was based largely on another magazine Earl had started, called Candy Merchandising.
Following World War II, Prudence and Earl’s sons Stanley and Allen joined the family business. Allen, the youngest, started in 1950. In 1958, he established a permanent office in Glen Rock, New Jersey , while Stanley remained at the Chicago office. The Manufacturing Confectioner Publishing Company bought two other publications, American Perfumer in 1960 and McCutcheon’s Detergents and Emulsifiers in 1969. With the addition of these magazines, a parent company, Allured Publishing Corporation, was formed with its headquarters in Chicago.
Prudence retired in 1968 at the age of 86. At that time, a decision was made to divide the company in order to allow each of her sons to more freely specialize in his area of expertise and interest. Allen, on the East Coast, headed up the Manufacturing Confectioner (MC) Publishing Company with the Manufacturing Confectioner and McCutcheon’s Detergents and Emulsifiers. In Chicago, Stanley continued to oversee Allured Publishing and the American Perfumer. Both companies have flourished through this arrangement, which allowed each to develop its own personality and authority its respective industry.
Through his dedication to, and belief in, the people of the confectionery industry, Allen became widely known and respected in the industry. His advice and perspective on key industry issues was widely sought out by industry leaders and small one-person businesses alike. Building upon his parents’ vision, he became knowledgeable and well-respected in the industry.
Coralene Kate Allured, Allen’s wife, joined the company following Prudence’s retirement. Rather than try to fill Prudence’s shoes, Kate and Allen instead used their combined wisdom in developing their own teamwork and personalities to build on the quality and productivity of the company while continuing the leadership role within the industry. Kate, through her management skills and creativity, had a major impact on the company. Her concern for the office environment and professionalism of the staff paralleled the company’s involvement in the industry. She also foresaw the great potential in new technology, introducing computer resources to the company early on. Her mission was to run a more efficient office, and to create an atmosphere that is both professional and at the same time hospitable to the individual needs of its employees. Through her guidance, the Glen Rock office flourished from a one-person satellite office to a robust company in its own right.
The accumulated experience and involvement in the industry continued with the third generation as Kate and Allen’s son, Michael, opened the Princeton, Wisconsin, office. While he grew up amidst the family business, he also brought other significant experience to the company. After graduating from Colorado College with a degree in mathematics, Mike worked for 11 years as a wooden boat builder before joining the company in 1986. In boat building, carefully conditioned teamwork was a necessity, both to individuals’ safety and to produce the final product. His leadership experience includes having served for 10 years on the Town Board of Crystal Lake Township — six of those as the town chairman. His genuine interest in listening to people, their concerns and their stories, helped shape both the office he created and the relationships he forged in the industry as well.
When the Princeton office eventually became the company’s main headquarters, Kate and Allen continued their involvement from the East Coast until Allen passed away in May 2013. Shortly after, Allured Fund for Confectionery Education was created in memory of Allen and his parents, who felt that strong education programs, widely available, help to ensure a vibrant and everlasting industry. It was the belief of Prudence, Earl and Allen that the success of one candymaker satisfying one customer has always had the impact of improving all candymakers. The fund provides grants to those people who wish to attend an educational event in the U.S. but are unable to due to financial hardship.
Kate remained involved in the company for several years following Allen’s passing, and now contributes primarily through her advice and support to the business’s current leadership.
Amy Allured, representing the family’s fourth generation, joined the business in 2014. She graduated from Colorado College in 2011 with a degree in psychology and went on to spend three years in marketing, social media and public relations roles in the food and restaurant category prior to joining MC Publishing. Her early experience with the family business exposed her to the dedication Al, Kate and Michael exhibited to all who would come to them with questions, concerns or insights. Their example inspired her to learn about the industry and its needs through listening and creating connections.
As the Manufacturing Confectioner advances into the 21st century and beyond, the principles guiding the publication remain much the same: service, integrity and commitment to its readers for the betterment of the industry.
Industry Relationships and Honors
Earl and Prudence were successful because they had a dream of working for the betterment of the industry. They were heavily involved with their readers, a tenet of the MC that is still practiced today. While there have been tremendous advances in publishing technology, none of these technical advances have replaced the value of the information that the MC provides through both the magazine itself and through extensive personal contact with people in the industry.
In recognition of the company’s 80th anniversary in 2001, Allen recollected,
“In the early years Adolph Goelitz gave my father seed money to start the magazine. Frank Brach and Ferd Bunte regularly kept in touch with the MC. … Herman Heide made sure my mother had a room when she traveled to New York during the war when rooms were almost impossible to secure. Nello Ferrara always invited the MC to his meetings and receptions. In Japan in the early ’60s, the Morinago family provided a limousine and driver to take my mother to visit the other three major chocolate companies.”
From the start, the magazine has been deeply connected with its relationships to the people of the industry. It was through those connections and friendships, and many more like them, that Prudence, Allen, Kate and Michael made their mark in the industry. Prudence was formally honored by the National Candy Wholesalers Association (NCWA), National Confectioners Association (NCA) and American Association of Candy Technologists (AACT). She was the first woman to receive the Stroud Jordan award presented by the AACT to honor individuals who have selflessly devoted their time to help the confectionery industry.
Allen was recognized by NCA in 1978 as Man of the Year, and he was a guest of the Queen of Holland as the U.S. representative for the chocolate and confectionery industry at the Dutch-U.S. Bicentennial in 1982. In 1993, Allen received the Stroud Jordan Award from AACT. He was also the first recipient of NCA’s Public Service award. In 1978, he was Man of the Year for the Association of Manufacturers of Confectionery and Chocolate. He received NCWA’s Certificate of Recognition as a distinguished Dean of the Confectionery Industry, the RCA of Philadelphia award “for long continued service in the interest of all manufacturing retailers”, the Silver Dish award from the Candy Brokers Association and the Biscuit and Cracker Technical Award. He received the Retail Confectioners International (RCI) Bornhofft Award in 2001, for his “outstanding leadership, loyalty, friendship” and contributions to the industry.
Allen and Kate together received the RCI Presidents’ Award “in recognition of unselfish service to the Retail Confectionery industry, for their loyal support of the RCI and for generosity of spirit and for sharing ideas and friendship.”
Michael was recognized by AWMA’s Leadership Development Division in 1993, and in 2000 received PMCA’s Service Award. He received RCI’s Bornhofft Award in 2011. In 2014, Michael received AACT’s Stroud Jordan Award.
Mission and Future
From its founding, the Manufacturing Confectioner has been driven by its firm values and a clear mission. Earl wrote of his vision for the publication in its first issue in June 1921.
“The Candy Manufacturer from its inception has had the respect and confidence and active cooperation of the foremost authorities in the confectionery field. It is pledged to a program of accomplishments which will prove a genuine service to the industry. I confidently expect that the whole fraternity of manufacturing confectioners will welcome a high grade, clean, constructive publication. The Candy Manufacturer represents a concentration of mind and activities on one objective — that of serving the industry comprehensively and exclusively.”
He expanded on this founding principle in 1928:
“The Manufacturing Confectioner, therefore, has a high calling — a responsibility for exerting a constructive, elevating influence helping the confectionery industry to accept today’s challenge in the new industrial competition.
In recognition of the 25th anniversary, Prudence used those words from Earl quoted above to reflect on the purpose of the magazine. She further summarized her experience, saying,
“The Manufacturing Confectioner is something more than just so much paper and printer’s ink — it is an institution — a personality with ideals and with carefully defined objectives. It is an industry service.”
In 2001, marking 80 years in business, Allen thought on the relationships he and his parents had built over the years and offered his own outlook on the company’s impact.
“We are fortunate to have so many good friends worldwide. These friends, how we can help people and how much fun we can have, measure our success.”
With that definition in mind, the Manufacturing Confectioner fondly recollects its successful century of service and looks forward to the years of friendship, fun and helpfulness ahead.