B.A. Sweetie Candy Company

b.a. Sweetie Candy Company is a candy retailer and wholesale confectionery distributor in Cleveland, Ohio, operating a 40,000-square-foot retail candy store with an old-fashioned soda shoppe and 36 holes of miniature golf, and distributing candy and confections to more than 800 partners nationwide. The business was founded in 1950 as Bag A Sweet Candy Company by Frank Stansny and Al Tokar, and was acquired by Tom and Judi Scheiman in 1982. It also owns the Humphrey Popcorn, Campbell's Popcorn, Olympia Sweet Treats and Cleveland in a Box brands, with more than 67,000 square feet of warehouse space. The company became employee-owned through an employee stock ownership plan established via a new holding company, BA Sweetie Holdings Inc.; the restructuring took effect at the end of March 2026 and was reported publicly at the end of June 2026, in the company's 75th year. Owner Tom Scheiman sold to the ESOP after exploring strategic partners and a private equity deal as part of succession planning, and Peter Kempton Jr. is president. No trustee, lender or valuation firm was disclosed, and the size of the stake sold was not published.