Our Story
a happy accident
It all started with a happy accident.
One autumn day in 1970 a customer asked our dad, Steve Lochirco, owner of Lochirco Fruit & Produce, if he’d be willing to make some caramel-covered apples for him. No problem, Dad told him. Just fill out an order form.
And it really wasn’t a problem, that is, until an employee misread the “2” for a “20” on the order form. Suddenly, Dad had 18 extra cases of caramel apples on his hands!
our origin
Always the entrepreneur, Dad loaded the extra cases in his produce truck and headed to where he knew the biggest crowd in the little town of Washington, Missouri, would be found—at the Friday night football game at Washington High.
The autumn air was crisp, the Washington Blue Jays were victorious, and Dad was delighted to see the fans delighted by his caramel apples.
And that’s the day Happy Apples was born.
Now—three generations later—Happy Apples is still the same Ma-and-Pa operation, with the same enterprising spirit and dedication to customer delight as the day it first began, but with a whole lot more experience and expertise.
our customers
After founding Happy Apples, one of the first things Dad did was purchase about 200 acres of orchards in Missouri so we could learn firsthand how to grow the best apples for making into caramel apples.
We then developed our own proprietary caramel recipe that sticks, looks and tastes wonderfully.
And, over time, we’ve modernized our production facility, achieving the highest level of food safety certification available and the ability to make 300 caramel apples a minute!
But one thing will always stay the same:
Happy Apples will always be about spreading joy, one delicious apple at a time.