FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCT. 27, 2015

Piedmont Candy Co. Celebrates Sweet Success North Carolina heritage brand marks 125 years of making iconic Red Bird Peppermint puff mints

LEXINGTON, NC — The taste of success is sweet at Piedmont Candy Company. The family-owned and operated company is celebrating a big anniversary: 125 years of producing iconic Red Bird Peppermint puff mints.

Founded in 1890 (yes, that’s not a typo) near where the facility stands today in Lexington, Piedmont Candy Company has improved and grown over the years thanks to modern technological advances. But at the same time, they’ve held strong to the ideals and methods that have made Red Bird such an enduring favorite, including using 100 percent pure cane sugar, all natural peppermint oil and creating the stripes in Red Bird candy by hand.

“We are a family both literally and figuratively,” says Mary Llewellyn Cox, Piedmont Candy Company vice president of sales and marketing. “We have multiple generations of families that have worked in our candy kitchen. We rely on our candy makers to uphold our quality standards. Making pure sugar candies is hard work so it extremely important that our candy makers are as invested in the process and output as possible.”

The red and white star of the Piedmont Candy Company are Red Bird Peppermint puffs, a simple, classic candy that people remember their grandmothers carrying in their purse or as the little treat that they were able to buy at the candy store. Red Bird Peppermint puffs and sticks account for almost 85 percent of the company’s business.

A little perspective on the enduring success of Piedmont Candy Company: • Thirty Red Bird mints are consumed per second. • One million Red Bird bags, tubs and sticks are sold in the week leading up to Christmas. • Red Bird candies are made in small batches of 100 pounds that are striped and shaped by hand,

making each puff and stick unique.

Red Bird products are proudly made in North Carolina, but can be found in retail stores across the country, including Walgreens, Williams-Sonoma, CVS, Rite-Aid, A Southern Season and Lowes Foods, among others.

MORE ABOUT PIEDMONT CANDY COMPANY Since 1890, Piedmont Candy Company has been creating high quality candy in Lexington, NC. The 125 year-old business has remained family-owned-and-operated, populated with extremely passionate candy makers and employees. PCC’s unique manufacturing process, combined with the pure cane sugar ingredients, give Red Bird puffs a unique soft texture that is distinctly Southern and uniquely Red Bird. PCC is proud to be a part of the Lexington community and plans to continue adding jobs to the local economy. For more information, visit piedmontcandy.com.

FOR IMAGES OR INTERVIEW REQUESTS, CONTACT CONCENTRIC MARKETING: 704.287.8642; rsutherland@getconcentric.com