A century of sweetness: How Esther Price is navigating the next 100 years

The numbers are different than when Esther started her company in 1926, but not much else has changed.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

“We still do it the same. We don’t mess with the quality and we don’t mess with the ingredients,” said Jennifer McElroy, Esther Price’s new vice president of operations.

Ingredients and materials still come from as many local sources as possible. Prairie Farms Dairy supplies many of the ingredients. Boxes and corrugated materials come from Miami Valley Packaging. Lids and bases are provided by the Piqua Paper Company.

Much of the equipment used in Esther Price’s Wayne Avenue manufacturing plant has been with the company since the mid-20th century, including giant, heavy cream mixing kettle pots from the 1960s and cast-iron beaters that date back to the 1940s.

In an era where AI and automation are manufacturing buzzwords, it’s people who remain the backbone of Esther Price’s operation, from hand-packing every box of candies to hand-tying each ribbon on the box

Linda Bell and Frieda Fries have spent a combined 64 years in the company’s manufacturing operation.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

Bell ties an estimated quarter of a million bows a year, wrapping each one perfectly and cleanly trimming any excess ribbon.

She scoffs at comments that she’s fast at it. Really fast.

“I was good back in the day,” Bell said with a laugh.

Fries said they’ve stayed so long for one reason.

“Family. Here I got to feel a little family,” she said. She worked for a moving company and tried a couple of other jobs early in her career. But, she said, Esther Price was more than a job. “I love my job. People are so good to you here.”

More than 90 percent of those people are women and have been over the course of the company’s existence.

According to company legend, Esther herself would personally interview each lady who applied.

“She would check their hands. If they had hot hands, they couldn’t get hired because the chocolate would melt. That’s the legend, anyway,” McElroy said.

She said that in the 1970s and ’80s, the company’s operating calendar was a big recruiting tool for women, regardless of hand temperature. Esther Price shuts down manufacturing operations for about two months in the summer when kids are home from school.

Ironically, that same calendar has partially been responsible for a labor shortage the company deals with on a daily basis today.

“Ever since COVID, (staffing) really went down,” McElroy said. “Now we find that the time off is not a selling point for people.”

CiGi Mclendon has seen firsthand the effects of the labor shortage.

She’s worked for the candy maker for 15 years, most recently as the production manager.

When she started, her department was staffed by 30 people. Now she has 15. Ideally, she said, there should be about 25.

It’s forced them to improve teamwork and planning, and to get the most out of what automation changes have been made.

“We’re able to get a lot more candy out a day,” Mclendon said.

Esther Price recently acquired a “flow wrapper” that packages individual candies and, when fully implemented, can potentially increase production and the type of products sold.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

McElroy, who was promoted to vice president in late February, is charged with finding more ways to carry Esther Price into its next 100 years.

“Jen’s leadership, attention to detail and deep understanding of our operations make her the right person to step into this role as we enter our second century,” said CEO Doug Dressman. “She understands that our success is built on people, process and pride in doing things the right way. Her promotion reflects both her impact on the organization and our confidence in her vision for the future.”

McElroy said that future involves getting more candy into more people’s hands, and not just in boxes for special occasions.

Christmas remains Esther Price’s peak season, with more than 30,000 boxes sold in-store and online, followed closely by Easter and Valentine’s Day.

McElroy envisions any day being an Esther Price day, with individual candies offered for sale in checkout lines and elsewhere.

She said the company will continue to explore the latest in candy trends - like the current fascination with Dubai chocolate - and implement whatever makes sense, as long as it keeps with Esther Price’s traditions.

“As we talk about diversifying revenue streams, we have the equipment and means. Let’s do it,” McElroy said. “I want people to be able to grab Esther Price whenever they want. That’s what I want for people.”

But her first job in her new position is a yearlong birthday party to celebrate 100 years.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

Throughout 2026, Esther Price will be holding giveaways and events, and selling its candies in a specially designed anniversary box.

The specially designed purple box is a tribute to James “Jim” Day, longtime owner and president who purchased the operation from Price in 1976 and led its regional expansion while maintaining Price’s classic recipes.

The purple represents Day’s high school alma mater, Elder High School in Cincinnati.

Day was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame in 2016 before passing away in 2020.

Other 100th birthday celebration specials throughout the year will include candy-making opportunities at the Wayne Avenue production plant and a chance to win tours by finding a golden ticket in one of the anniversary boxes.

You can keep track of all the Esther Price 100th anniversary events at the company’s website, estherprice.com.

The Top Five

There are dozens of sweet treats to taste, but these are the top five to try to get the real flavor of the Esther Price Candy Company, according to Vice President of Operations Jennifer McElroy: