Atkinson Candy hires Larson as head of sales and marketing

Former Hershey, Nabisco employee joins Atkinson

Stan Larson, formerly with Nabisco, Kraft Foods, The Hershey Co. and ConAgra, has joined Atkinson Candy Co. as its v.p. of sales and marketing.

He will oversee a wide variety of business development functions including strategic direction, key customer management, and promotional activities for the Lufkin, Texas-based confectionery company.

“We are delighted to welcome Stan to our team,” says Eric Atkinson, president. “His robust background in the industry will surely give Atkinson Candy Co. a fresh perspective and strategic focus.”

Larson brings more than twenty years of experience in brand and customer management and business development and has played key roles with the blue chip consumer packaged goods companies cited earlier.

“I am thrilled to join a well-run family company with best-of-class quality standards, and extremely loyal consumers," says Larson. "Expanding distribution will be a key priority as we continue to modernize our core brands."

Atkinson Candy Co. is known for handmade confections like the cult classic Chick-O-Stick, Sophie Mae Peanut Brittle, Gemstone Candies and many more.

With more than 30 years experience in B-to-B reporting, writing and editing — the bulk of which was dedicated to covering the bakery, confectionery and snack industries — Pacyniak has chronicled changes within the food industry since the early 1980s. A Boston University journalism degree graduate, he worked for a variety of publications before joining BNP Media in 1994 as editor of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine. In 2001, he took over as editor-in-chief of Candy Industry until 2018.