Garrett Owner To Buy Frango Brand From Macy's

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The owner of Garrett Popcorn Shops is buying the Frango mint brand from Macy's, meaning the iconic chocolates will once again be owned in Chicago.

Cincinnati-based Macy's has announced it will sell Frango to Garrett Brands.

Although Garrett Brands owns the popular Garrett Popcorn Shops chain, you won't see Frango mints at their stores.

"Garrett Popcorn Shops will continue to operate separately and will not serve as a retailer for Frango," spokeswoman Michelle Molise said in an email.

Frango mints were created on the West Coast in 1918, but were acquired by Chicago department store Marshall Field's in 1929, and long were made at their flagship State Street store. When Marshall Field's was acquired by Minneapolis-based Dayton Hudson in 1990, production of Frango mints was later outsourced to Pennsylvania. Two years after Macy's acquired Marshall Field's in 2005, some production returned to Chicago.

Now ownership will be back in Chicago as well.

"Frango is a perfect fit for our company's portfolio, aligning well with our strategy to preserve and grow iconic brands that have historic franchise value with a unique and storied past," Garrett owner and CEO Lance Chody said in a statement on Macy's website. "This is an exciting opportunity to expand the reach and offerings of the delicious Frango confections consumers know and love to more people in more places, just as we have done with our other brands."

Macy's will continue to sell Frango products in its flagship State Street store, at more than 350 other store locations across the country, and on macys.com.

"We are happy to have found such a natural partner in Garrett Brands and are confident they will be great stewards of the Frango brand," said Tim Baxter, chief merchandising officer at Macy's, Inc. "We will continue to offer Macy's customers the Frango products they love online and at Macy's stores in Chicago, Seattle and across the country. And, given Garrett Brands' history of thoughtfully growing brands, we are confident that this partnership will introduce new customers to premium Frango chocolates."