Chocolate Inn/Taylor & Grant Parent Company Acquires Lanco

By Brendan Menapace

NC Chocolate Manufacturing LLC (NCCM), parent company of Chocolate Inn/Taylor & Grant, acquired the assets of Lanco, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

The acquisition, which is NCCM's sixth in the promotional products industry and its largest to date, was finalized on Dec. 8.

"We are excited to announce the acquisition of Lanco," Lance Stier, managing member of NCCM, said in a press release. "The acquisition significantly expands our presence in the food category—where Lanco has been a long-time leader in chocolate foiled squares and other edibles—plus, significantly enhances our product offering, including best-selling full color microfibers, lip balms, hand sanitizers, customized bottled water and other popular promotional items."

NCCM plans to release a "Best of Chocolate Inn/Lanco" catalog in early 2018, which will include offerings from each brand. Going forward, Lanco will retain its name and operate from its Ronkonkoma facility.

"We believe these businesses are highly synergistic," David Miller, president of Chocolate Inn/Taylor & Grant said. "Our customer bases and product lines are highly complementary. Plus, we are very excited to invest capital into developing new products and new capabilities for our expanding customer base."

"I am thrilled to have Lanco join the Chocolate Inn family," Scott Slade, president of Lanco said. "I am looking forward to working with their team and creating a customer experience that will be unmatched in the industry. Joining forces will allow us to build upon the foundation of our business—the customer-first focus. Chocolate Inn's business model will allow us to bring Lanco's customers industry-leading capabilities including product innovation, increased in-stock levels and exemplary service."

This acquisition comes just days after Prime Line and alphabroder announced a merger. It also comes a month after the news initially broke that Lanco was entering a purchase agreement with NCCM. With that move creating a combination of hard and soft goods, this acquisition points to a consolidation of hard goods and edibles.

For more information on Chocolate Inn/Taylor & Grant, visit www.chocolateinn.com.