It’s said people can’t know where they’re going until they understand where they’ve been. If anyone knows that adage to be true, it’s Eric Atkinson, president and co-owner of Lufkin, Texas-based Atkinson Candy Co.
In 1932, Eric’s grandfather, Basil E. Atkinson Sr., began making two-day treks to Houston to purchase candy and tobacco, which he’d sell to mom-and-pop shops on the return trip. Since then, the now third-generation company has grown to be a major contributor in the Lufkin and East Texas economies and a long-time manufacturer of classic candy brands.