Bethlehem-area factory set to close, lay off over 100 employees | LehighValleyNews.com

HANOVER TWP., Northampton County, Pa. — Stuffed Puffs, a township-based manufacturer that started at a business incubator in Bethlehem, is set to close its doors this fall.

The company, located at 3910 Stuffed Puffs Place, recently submitted a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice to the state Department of Labor.

The notice — effective beginning Oct. 26 and ending Nov. 9 — says the closing will impact 106 employees.

Stuffed Puffs hit the market in May 2019, with the backing of food and beverage incubator Factory, according to Factory's website.

The website says founder and CEO Mike Tierney approached Factory with the idea to create a chocolate-stuffed marshmallow. The Stuffed Puffs website boasts of a variety of "OG" (original) and seasonal flavors like salted caramel, cookies n' cream and yellow milk chocolate stuffed eggs.

The company's first big customer was Walmart, according to Factory.

"Demand was so great that before the summer was over, planning was underway for a second manufacturing facility, which was up and running nonstop in early 2021," the website says.

The company opened a 165,000-square-foot facility in January that year at the site of the former Guardian Life offices in Hanover Township, Northampton County.

Media outlets like U.S. Weekly, Insider and Forbes previously left raving reviews for the product, calling it "the ultimate food combo," and a "new summer staple."

On Tuesday, Mount Franklin Foods announced in a news release it acquired Stuffed Puffs "effective immediately."

The manufacturer, located in El Paso, Texas, says it serves its customers through divisions and affiliate companies like Sunrise Confections, Azar Nut, Hospitality Mints and Element Food Solutions.

The release called Stuffed Puffs a "leading driver of growth in its category" since its inception, and that Mount Franklin Foods' acquisition aligns with the company's "strategic goal to diversify and expand our product offerings."

"We are thrilled to join the Mount Franklin Foods family," Tierney said in the release. "With a shared vision for the future of Stuffed Puffs, our strategic alignment with Mount Franklin Foods, together with its scale and resources, will be a major unlock for us to accelerate our growth trajectory and innovation pipeline."