When the little ghouls and goblins return home from trick-or-treating this Halloween, there’s a good chance their haul of sweets and treats will include some that were Made in Lehigh Valley. 

From Just Born and Bazzini to Keystone Food Products and Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing, the Lehigh Valley’s growing food and beverage industry includes a high concentration of employment in candy and snack food manufacturing – 3.7 times the national average.

Just Born is best known for the marshmallow Peeps® that fill Easter baskets, but the Bethlehem company designs goodies for Halloween, too. This year’s flavors include Peeps® shaped like ghosts, skulls, monsters, and pumpkins, plus three Halloween flavors of Mike and Ike®: Sour Ghoulish Grape, Sour Wicked Watermelon, and Sour Orange Scream.

For those who prefer salty snacks, Keystone Food Products in Lower Nazareth Township makes tortilla chips, corn snacks, and snack mixes including Party Mix. Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing in Bethlehem Township makes popping corn, microwave popcorn, and ready-to-eat popcorn.

Lehigh Valley’s economy is driven by manufacturing, and makers of food and beverages in particular have seen remarkable growth, with employment increasing by 76% over the past 15 years.

Job growth among all categories of manufacturing in the Lehigh Valley has been 28.8% since 2010, three times the national growth rate of 9.6%.

In February, Bazzini expended its Lehigh Valley operations by leasing a 150,000 square-foot manufacturing center in Hanover Township, Northampton County. Bazzini produces nut, fruit, and chocolate confections and is the oldest nut company in the United States. It has provided peanuts to Yankee Stadium since 1923.

Bazzini moved its headquarters and main manufacturing operations to the Lehigh Valley, in Upper Macungie Township, from New York City in 2011.

In June, candy maker Kervan USA broke ground on a $20 million packaging and manufacturing facility in Lower Nazareth and Bethlehem townships. Based in Turkey, Kervan produces more than 200 different gummy, licorice, and marshmallow candy varieties under the Bebeto and Yumy Yumy brands.

Kervan established its U.S. headquarters in the Lehigh Valley in 2011. It will move those operations from Whitehall Township to the new facility when it is completed.

Ranked among the Top 15% of U.S. manufacturing markets by Gross Domestic Product, the Lehigh Valley has a diverse cross section of nearly 700 manufacturers. They collectively generate $9 billion in annual output, representing 16% of the regional economy. Nationally, manufacturing GDP is 12%.

Manufacturers are drawn to the Lehigh Valley by its strategic location, within a day’s drive of one-third of the U.S. population; its skilled workforce of 1.8 million within an hour’s drive; and its abundance of natural resources.

(Mike and Ike photo courtesy of Just Born. Party Mix photo courtesy of Keystone Food Products).