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Father and Son Team Create Candy Without the Extra Junk Unreal Candy's natural treats are a fast-growing success.

By Jennifer Wang

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Three years ago, when Nicky Bronner was 13, his father took away half his stash of Halloween candy. "He said it was bad for me, so I looked it up. Turns out it is just loads of junk that you don't want in your body. I told my dad he was right," he says. "It's the only time I've ever said that to him."

Nicky asked his father, serial entrepreneur and investor Michael Bronner, if it would be possible to start a business that would remake, or "unjunk," his favorite candies, without corn syrup, hydrogenated fats or artificial ingredients. He also wanted to make sure the products wouldn't be shuttled off to the health-foods sections of specialty markets; his idea was to offer candy fans better options in the same stores that stock Snickers and M&M's--and at comparable prices.

Unreal Candy
Number of new confectionery products introduced in 2012

Unreal Candy
Loyal consumers who "usually seek out their favorite candy and snack brands"

Unreal Candy
Increase in sales of sweet and savory snacks from $32.7 billion in 2007 to $40.1 billion in 2012

Sources: National Confectioners Association, Datamonitor Consumer's Product Launch Analytics database

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