Ganong: A Sweet History of Chocolate

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

The Ganong candy manufacturing company is an example of great Canadian
entrepreneurship. It was founded in 1873 by two brothers who wanted to
stay in their small New Brunswick town of St. Stephen. They developed a
philosophy of quality above all and fair treatment of employees. For
over 130 years—five generations—it has remained in the same family,
in the same town, practising the same principles of quality and
fairness, while developing Canada-wide and international markets and
recognition.

Folster’s work is both a history of and a tribute to this famous
Maritime company. With text and an abundant quantity of visuals, he
touches on the main events in the Ganong business, profiles the various
family members involved as well as a few key employees, looks at product
changes and advertising strategies, and describes the physical plant. He
also chronicles changes during the war years and the Great Depression,
and examines the impact of changing technology on the company and its
strategies for survival in the face of modern international competition.
Today, Ganong enjoys a measure of fame as the inventor of chicken bones
(a Christmas candy), and for introducing the heart-shaped box of
Valentine chocolates to Canada.

Visually, the book is rich and beautiful. The illustrations—in colour
whenever possible—include the chocolate and candy boxes and wrappers
from the earliest days to the present, photos of family members and a
few group shots of employees, archival views of the interior of the
factory at various points in its history, advertising posters, and ad
copy. The text is polished but dry, lacking anecdotes and stories needed
to bring the facts to life.

Company histories can be positioned somewhere along a continuum that
stretches from public relations puffery to valuable social history.
Ganong teeters at the midway mark. To move more firmly into the field of
social history it would have needed details relating the company to its
environment, as well as much more information on working conditions and
the relationship of both employees and customers to the business.