no.421 From the Family Chocolate Business to the Oval Office—and Back Again
Edward Marc Brands is both a 102-year-old family business and a hot startup, led by sibling political animals Chris Edwards and Dana Edwards Manatos. (Their brother, Mark Edwards, is COO.) Chris Edwards explains how the Pittsburgh-based company soared, with a little help from Sarah Palin and the Pentagon.
Chris Edwards, Dana Edwards Manatos Edward Marc Brands
• Three-year growth 914.4% • 2015 revenue $24.4 MILLION
OUR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS emigrated from Greece to Pittsburgh, where they sold chocolate-covered candied fruit on street corners. By 1914, they had saved enough money to buy a small storefront. For decades, they, and then their children, sold homemade ice cream and chocolates.
KEYSTONE CANDY STAYED a mom-and-pop business until our parents took it over in the late 1970s. Our father sold chocolates to
