'Candy Lady' Dena Manning resurrects Butterfields Candy
Company known for iconic Peach Buds hard candies.
Among Nash County’s growing circle of entrepreneurs, Dena Manning is known as The Candy Lady. Thanks to her, an iconic North Carolina candy company is back in business, and a new generation of candy connoisseurs is discovering the distinctive taste of its hard sweet candy treats.
Four years ago, Manning rescued Butterfields Traditional Candy Co. from bankruptcy, where the previous owner had taken it in 2009. She risked just about everything she had – savings from her career with the Durham County court system, a modest inheritance from her grandmother and a small investment from her former father-in-law.