Licorice International Hosts Open House Celebrating 10 Years

Since 2002, Licorice International has been offering gourmet quality licorice online through its company website for licorice lovers throughout the United States. Over the last 10 years, the company has provided European licorice candies and other gourmet treats from more than 60 manufacturers in 14 countries.

The company, which began in New York city, was purchased in February 2002 by two Lincoln couples, John and Ardith Stuertz and Doug and Elizabeth Erlandson. The company relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska and the website was launched that summer. Internet commerce was still young at that time and this was one of the first stores online to offer a specific candy product to customers throughout the USA. Licorice International was able to bring European and gourmet licorice to customers who remembered the taste of good, old-fashioned licorice.

Elizabeth Erlandson, Marketing Director for Licorice International had this to say about the start-up of the business online. “Licorice International was a labor of love from the very beginning. My husband loves licorice and Ardith and I loved working together. It was fun building a business, using our various skills and interests. We all had a hand in getting the business up and running.”

“We worked really hard at getting out the word about our business. None of us had ever been involved in retail or candy, but we had a lot of business experience and the willingness to learn and work hard,” says Mrs. Erlandson. “For the first 18 months, we worked out of our two homes, but eventually, we realized that if we wanted to grow, we would have to move to a commercial location. That’s when we became a “click and brick” operation, where we had not only an online store but a physical store as well.”

Today, Licorice International continues to move forward by offering new licorice products, additional types of candy and a variety of specialty foods at its facility in Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket district. Among some of the new products are gluten-free and sugar-free treats and non-licorice items such as gummi candies, caramels and chocolates.

As part of the celebration in Lincoln, Licorice Internatioanl is hosting an Open House on Friday, February 3^rd, from 10 to 6 p.m.

Licorice International offers the largest selection of licorice in the United States with convenient, one-stop shopping www.LicoriceInternational.com and at its retail shop at

803 Q Street

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Licorice International was named 2011 Retailer Pioneer by the Nebraska Retail Federation for its international outreach through the internet. For more information, call 402.488.2230 or email licoricenews@licoriceinternational.com

Read more about the business here.