Leaf International BV was a

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

company founded in the 1940s. Leaf had sales of approximately €527m (2010) and 2,400 employees. It had 11 factories in seven countries. Leaf was owned by

CVC Capital Partners CVC Capital Partners plc is a Jersey-based private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately €186 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, European, ...

Nordic Capital Nordic Capital is a global private equity firm focused on leveraged buyouts of established companies in Northern Europe and North America. Founded in 1989, the firm manages about $50 billion of capital, with offices in New York, London, Stockh ...

, and management.

Bengt Baron Bengt Baron (born 6 March 1962) is a business leader and former backstroke swimmer from Sweden. Baron won the 100 m backstroke at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and was a member of the bronze winning team from Sweden in the 4×100 m f ...

was the CEO of Leaf. After several mergers and acquisitions Leaf merged with the Swedish

company

Cloetta Cloetta is a Swedish confectionery company. The company manufactures and sells local confectionery brands on its main markets Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and the UK. History In 1862, Christoph Cloëtta (1836–1897) ...

, and dropped the Leaf name.Merger between Cloetta and LEAF – Presentation
on Cloetta website, 16 Dec 2011 Leaf was also notable for its

trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...

s, more specifically the

baseball card A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, s ...

s sets, with the first of them released in 1948.1948-49 Leaf Baseball Checklist
/ref>

History

The company was founded by Sol S. Leaf in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in the 1940s. Its history includes a number of mergers, acquisitions, and divisions, as well as several name changes. 1948 Leaf Ted Williams

In 1940, the Leaf Confectionery Company introduced Rain-Blo Bubble Gum. In 1947, the Overland Candy Company (makers of

Whoppers Whopper are malted milk balls with an artificial flavored "chocolatey coating" produced by The Hershey Company. The candy is a round ball about . History In 1939, the Overland Candy Company introduced the predecessor to Whoppers, a malted ...

brand malted milk candy) merged with the Chicago Biscuit Company, Leaf Confectionary Company, and Leaf Machinery to form Leaf Brands. In 1948, Leaf issued its first set of

s, the first post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

color set. In 1949, Leaf Brands reintroduced Whoppers' Malted Milk Balls. In the 1960s, Whoppers Malted Milk Balls brand and other products manufactured by Leaf Brands were purchased by

W. R. Grace and Company Grace is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes polyethylene and polypropylene catalysts and related products ...

, which sold them back in 1976. In 1983, Leaf acquired

Jolly Rancher Jolly Rancher is an American brand of sweet hard candy, gummies, jelly beans, lollipops, and sour bites, and a line of soda put out by Elizabeth Beverage Company in 2004. Originally created in Colorado in the 1950s, the Jolly Rancher brand h ...

. Also in 1983, the Leaf Candy Company in Illinois was purchased by Huhtamäki Oyj of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, who merged it with Phoenix Candy (the maker of

Now and Later Now and Later is an American brand of fruit-flavored taffy-like candy manufactured by Ferrara Candy Company. The candy is formed into squares packaged in colorful paper. Twelve flavors are currently available in both Traditional and Chewy vari ...

) and another candy company it had acquired, all under the Leaf name. Huhtamäki Oyj acquired the

Donruss Donruss was a US-based trading cards manufacturing company founded in 1954 and acquired by the Panini Group in 2009. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the ...

trading card division of

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

at about the same time and merged it into Leaf. In 1986, Leaf purchased some confectionery brands from

Beatrice Foods Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food conglomerate founded in 1894. One of the best-known food processing companies in the U.S., Beatrice owned many well-known brands such as Tropicana, Krispy Kreme, Jolly Rancher, Orville Reden ...

, maker of

Milk Duds Milk Duds are a brand of candies made with chocolate, created in 1928 by Hoffman and Company of Chicago and now produced and marketed by The Hershey Company, under license from owners of the brand, Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based global priva ...

. Also in 1986, Leaf, Inc. sold Phoenix Candy to Kouri Capital, a Finnish investment firm, changing its name to Phoenix Confections. In 1988, Hollywood Brands, maker of

Payday A pay day or payday is a specified day of the week or month when one is paid, usually workers collecting wages from their employers. Pay Day, PayDay or Payday may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Pay Day'' (1918 film), a ...

and

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. Adding (or subtracting) 0 to any number leaves that number unchanged; in mathematical terminology, 0 is the additive identity of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and compl ...

, was purchased from

Sara Lee Sara may refer to: People * Sara (given name), a feminine given name People with the given name * Sara Aboobacker (1936–2023), Indian writer and translator * Sara Ahmed (born 1969), British-Australian writer * Sara Allgood (1880–1950), Ir ...

by Huhtamäki Oyj and became part of Leaf, Inc. In 1989, the

Heath bar The Heath bar is a candy bar made of toffee, almonds, and milk chocolate, first manufactured by the Heath Brothers Confectionery in 1928. The Heath bar has been manufactured and distributed by Hershey since its acquisition of the Leaf Interna ...

was purchased by Leaf. In the 1990s, Leaf became one of the world's top-ten confectionery companies; it was especially strong in non-

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

products such as

pastille A pastille is a type of sweet or medicinal pill made of a thick liquid that has been solidified and is meant to be consumed by light chewing and allowing it to dissolve in the mouth. The term is also used to describe certain forms of incense. A ...

s and

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...

. By 1993, Leaf was the fourth largest candy producer in North America. In 1996, the

Hershey Foods Corporation The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. The Hershey Company is one ...

acquired the Leaf North American confectionery operations from Huhtamäki Oyj. Over the next few years, Leaf manufacturing and sales became integrated into existing Hershey manufacturing and sales operations, effectively ending Leaf's existence as a separate operating unit in the US. In 1999, Leaf's European and Asian business, with brands such as Läkerol, Jenkki, and Sportlife, was sold to the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

company CSM, which added the brands to their confectionery unit, which already included Malaco, Red Band, and Venco. In 2000, CSM acquired Continental Sweets with market positions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK. In 2001, CSM acquired Socalbe, based in Italy, along with brands such as Dietorelle and Dietor. In 2005, CSM sold its confectionery unit to two private equity firms,

and

, that restored the Leaf name and continue to own the company today. In 2007, Leaf acquired

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...

Italy, including the brand Saila. The company acquired Leaf Holland B.V in May 2010. In February 2012, Leaf's merger with the Swedish confectionery company

(that had been announced in December 2011) was completed.Cloetta AB: Cloetta completes the merger with LEAF and announces changes to the Board of Directors
on Business Wire, 16 Feb 2012

Products

Leaf products included sugared and sugar-free gum, pastilles, candy, liquorices,

peppermints Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantba ...

, chocolates,

nougat Nougat refers to a variety of similar confections made from a sweet paste hardened to a chewy or crunchy consistency.. The usual version in Western and Southern Europe is made from a mousse of whipped egg white sweetened with sugar or ho ...

s, sweeteners and chews.

Brands

At the moment of the merger, Leaf owned the following brands: * Red Band (

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

) *

Läkerol Läkerol is a Swedish brand of candies. The candies are sugar-free pastilles with the major ingredient being gum arabic. The candies are produced in a variety of flavors. The candy is produced by the Swedish confectionery company, Cloetta. Läk ...

(

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

) * Malaco (

) * Saila (

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) * Sportlife (

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) * Jenkki (

) * Chewits (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) * Xylifresh (

) * King (

) * Sisu (

) * Dietor (

) * Galatine (

) * Sperlari (

) * Tupla (

) *

Mynthon Mynthon is a Finland, Finnish brand of pastilles owned by Cloetta. It has been produced since the 1970s.Antinluoma, IinaMainosala odottaa kysynnän piristymistä ''Turun Sanomat'' 24 February 2004. Accessed on 5 January 2012.Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

) * Dietorelle (

) * Venco (

) *

Ahlgrens bilar {{Original research, date=December 2018 Ahlgrens was a Swedish confectionery company. It was founded by Fredrik Ahlgren in the town of Gävle in 1885 as a store for paint and wallpaper, a business which was later extended to the production and sal ...

(

)

References

External links

* (archived, 4 Feb 2011) * {{Sports cards Confectionery companies of the United States Food and drink companies of Sweden Dutch chocolate companies Defunct manufacturing companies based in Chicago Defunct manufacturing companies of Sweden Multinational companies Holding companies established in 1947 Food and drink companies established in 1947 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2012 1947 establishments in Illinois The Hershey Company brands Baseball cards Holding companies disestablished in 2012 2012 disestablishments in Sweden Companies disestablished in 2012 Swedish companies disestablished in the 2010s CVC Capital Partners companies