Edward Sharp & Sons was the largest toffee manufacturer in the world.
Edward Sharp establishes a confectionery factory
Edward Sharp (1854 – 1931) was born in Maidstone, Kent. He was a dedicated Congregationalist.
After attending the local grammar school, Sharp became an apprentice at the Springfield Mill, a Maidstone paper factory where his father was manager.
Sharp was dismissed after he declined to raise his cap to the managing director, Richard James Balston. Sharp later referred to the incident as, “the finest day’s work I have ever done in my life”.
Sharp established a grocery business on Week Street, Maidstone. His wife began to make homemade sweets, principally toffee and nougat, which Sharp sold in his shop from 1878.
The business was initially modest, and Sharp employed one man and one boy in 1881. Sharp acted as his own salesman, and travelled around Kent on his bicycle.
The confectionery sideline was to prosper, and Sharp divested his grocery business in 1898 and established a dedicated toffee factory in a former roller skating rink on Sandling Road, Maidstone.
Kreemy Toffee helps to establish sales, and a new factory is built
Sharp introduced a new type of creamy nougat. It was recast by the works manager, Alfred Edward Malins (1867 – 1933), to create a creamy toffee, which was branded as “Kreemy Toffee” from 1910.
A new factory, the Kreemy Works, was established at St Peter’s Street, Maidstone, from 1912. Increased capacity allowed Edward Sharp to begin to distribute Kreemy Toffee nationwide.
Sharp’s success was credited to improved methods of manufacture, careful advertising and a national increase in toffee sales during and following the First World War. The business claimed to be the largest toffee manufacturer in the world in 1922, and Sharp was made a baronet.
Sharp’s wife died in 1925, and to widespread surprise he married his secretary when he was 74 years old in 1928. Sharp died in 1931 and left an estate valued at £156,367.
Sharp’s sons Herbert Edward Sharp (1879 – 1936) and Wilfred James Sharp (1880 – 1945) became joint-managing directors of the company.
Edward Sharp & Sons toffee sales continued to grow, and it was the largest toffee manufacturer in the world in 1933. The company owed its success to heavy advertising and a quality product.
H E Sharp died in 1936 and left an estate valued at £79,943.
Restricted supplies of raw materials forced Sharps to concentrate on the export trade during the Second World War and up to the early 1950s.
W J Sharp died in 1945 and left an estate valued at £194,219. John Rayner Edgar Sharp (1917 – 1994) and Harold Sharp, grandsons of the founder, became joint-managing directors.
Sharps was one of the foremost sugar confectionery manufacturers in Britain in 1951. The business targeted the high-quality market. Super Kreem toffee was the highest-selling product line. The factory could produce 600 wrapped sweets a minute.
Employees were allowed to consume as much confectionery as they could eat on the premises, but were not permitted to take produce home.
Sugar rationing ended in 1953, and butter rationing ended in 1954. To cope with increasing sales, 24-hour production was introduced, and 350 men were employed on the night shift alone by 1954.
Edward Sharp & Sons loses its independence, the brand is withdrawn and the factory is closed
Following the post-rationing boom, an increasingly affluent society began to favour chocolate over sugar confectionery. Edward Sharp & Sons was acquired by Trebor, a privately-owned London confectionery manufacturer, in 1961. The sales forces were merged in 1968, and the company became known as Trebor Sharp.
The Maidstone plant focused on Easter eggs, toffee, fudge and chocolate-coated products by 1980.
Trebor Sharp was acquired by Cadbury in 1989.
Sharp’s toffee was discontinued in 1998.
The Maidstone factory was closed as part of an efficiency drive in 2000, with the loss of over 300 jobs. The factory had produced Softmints, toffee and fudge. Manufacturing was relocated to Chesterfield and Sheffield. The factory was demolished and replaced by housing in 2002.
The brand was relaunched as Sharps of York from 2004. The Sharps brand was acquired by Tangerine Confectionery in 2008 and products were rebranded under the Taveners name.