Monitoring costs
As the race for the White House heats up in the upcoming months, free trade and the loss of manufacturing jobs — including those in the candy-making industry — will be hot campaign issues.
Many in the industry blame government subsidies to sugar growers for the rising cost of sugar. Tootsie Roll has tried to combat the problem by buying futures for sugar to hedge. However, Gordon says sugar isn’t the only cost factor to monitor; corn syrup, cocoa, chocolate, packaging and labor also play a major role.
Gordon says she can’t comment on whether the same issues that have shut down other candy manufacturers or driven them out of Chicago and the United States could also force Tootsie Roll out of the area. (The company also has plants in Tennessee, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Mexico City.)
“We’re happy to be here,” Gordon says. “We’ve been here since the 1960s.”
Gordon says she and her husband eventually plan to hand the business over to their four daughters, who are all experienced business professionals.
