Necco Wafer Lovers Send Sales Spiking After Company Announces Potential Shutdown

The makers of a cult favorite candy saw sales spike after news of a potential company shutdown hit.

New England Confectionary Co., makers of the namesake Necco wafers, revealed last month that they will close their doors permanently unless they find a buyer by May 6.

In an apparent example of doomsday hoarding, sales of the chalky lozenges went up a reported 63 percent.

The New England Confectionary Co. calls itself the nation’s oldest continuously operating candy company at 170 years old.

The company also makes Clark Bars, Mary Janes, Squirrel Nut Zippers and those little message hearts you get on Valentine's Day, Sweethearts.

But it's the Necco wafers whose small but fiercely loyal fans are behind the spike. Fans like Katie Samuels of Florida, whose love of the candies led her to make a bizarre offer to an online candy supplier.

"I offered to trade my 2003 Honda Accord for all of their stock," Samuels told the Boston Globe. "I knew it was kind of a silly thing to say, but I’m serious. I don’t have much right now, so I was like, 'I've got this car, and I want all that candy, so maybe they would consider it.'"

In addition to these famous candies, shutdown of the Revere, Mass., plant would mean a loss of some 400 jobs.

RELATED STORIES