mostly manufacturers look at price hikes as an option of last resort.

mostly manufacturers look at price hikes as an option of last resort. And when they do raise prices, they ofttimes can attribute the move to outside forces, so as rising costs in ingredients, shipping, or regulation regulations. Thus, when Berlin-based Storck decided to inscribe the U.S. hard candy section in the mid-1980s, few count uponed the company to take forward the role of a pricing pioneer.

But as Liam Killeen, president and ceo of Storck USA, explains, the sugar confectionery market at the time was essentially an unbranded business, divided up between private label suppliers and undivided national ...