Dum Dums Maker Opens Sweet Spot for Candy Lovers

Willy Wonka’s world of sweets may be one built of pure imagination, but a trip to the northwest Ohio city of Bryan offers a real-life candy adventure. When you spot the 65-foot-high water tower adorned with Dum Dums lollipops, you’ll know you’re in the right place. 

Spangler Candy Co.’s Spangler Candy World in downtown Bryan covers 5,200 square feet of candy-colored happiness. Every square inch of the attraction that opened in late 2023 is packed with fun exhibits that share the history and story of the family-owned company that began in 1906. 

“There’s a smile on the end of every piece of candy that we make,” says Kirk Vashaw, Spangler Candy Co. CEO and fourth generation family member. “That fun should be celebrated.”

Kids and adults alike can virtually mix colors to light up their own 10-foot-tall lollipop creation, battle for Dum Dums with bots Duane and Dave (named in honor of Spangler’s first robotic engineers) and stop for pics in Sweethearts Chapel framed with giant conversation hearts.(The Ohio company acquired the maker of the favorite Valentine’s Day candy in 2018.) 

Older kids will enjoy the STEM video games that simulate real-life candy-making, while toddlers can “drive” Spangler’s Dum Dums Trolley down a delicious timeline of the company’s history of products. 

Be sure not to miss Spangler’s theater factory tour — a big-screen celebration. Vashaw wrote the script for the laughter-filled candy caper. Surprise blasts of wonderful scents fill the theater as giant images of shiny, colorful candy fill the huge screen. Although logistics have ended the in-person factory tours Spangler offered in years past, the big-screen presentation provides an up-close tour like never before. 

Spangler Candy World is free and open Monday through Saturday. Visitors need only pay for the movie and any Spangler memorabilia or candy they want to take home with them from the gift shop. 

131 S. Main St., Bryan 43506, 419/636-6439, spanglercandyworld.com