[1] The company was founded by the German-born Frederick Sanders Schmidt on June 17, 1875, when he opened a candy store on Woodward Avenue at Gratiot in downtown Detroit.
It came to operate a chain of stand-alone neighborhood candy stores, some featuring counters that also served light lunches and soda fountain drinks.
Originally, the factory sourced fresh milk for their confectionery treats from the adjacent "Cow Palace", until prevented by a change in city ordinances.
[citation needed] The company was in danger of running out of money due to a protracted recession in Detroit and Michigan, coupled with increased costs for sugar and chocolate.
[6] On May 4, 1988, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals approved a plan offered by Sanders' employees' union, United Distributive Workers Council 30, for the purchase of the company's assets by Country Home Bakery.
[7] In 2002 Morley Candy Makers, another Michigan-based confectioner, purchased the Sanders name and original recipes, adding to its own product line.
[8] In 2021, Kar's and Sanders were united under the corporate name Second Nature Brands, acquired in 2022 by UK-based private equity company CapVest Limited.
After rethinking its business model and noting strong local and nationwide demand for its products online, the company announced that it was accelerating the development of a new retail strategy, including introduction of home delivery services.