No sugar was produced in Europe until the 19^th century.

Sugar was extracted solely from sugar cane which only grew only in distant tropical countries, consequently sugar became synonymous with import by sea.

The port of Antwerp played an important part in this. History books tell us that Venetian galleys brought cane sugar cargoes to the banks of the Scheldt for the very first time in 1317.

Sugar processing in Antwerp expanded from the beginning of the 16th century.

The route between the quayside and the Grote Markt (the main market at that time) soon became known as Suikerrui (Sugar Canal) and was the lifeline for more than a hundred confectioners.

The appearance of Suikerrui changed several times over the centuries. Entire blocks of houses were demolished, the canal was covered and the bridges removed. Even the name Suikerrui is historically only partly correct.

The name was given to part of the present Suikerrui only in 1530, and referred to the stretch between Pieter Potstraat and Hoogstraat. The other side between Gildekamerstraat and Kaasstraat was called Zoutrui (Salt Canal), and further down to the Scheldt, it was called Boterrui (Butter Canal).

It was not until 1893 that the name Suikerrui was given to the whole street. The town council chose the name because the street was home to several confectioners and sugar boilers at the time.

Cane sugar was imported in very unrefined form at the time.

Cane sugar melted at high temperatures was converted into candy sugar by crystallisation.

The first refinery in Antwerp was established in 1508, and by 1550 there were more than fifteen sugar manufacturers. By then, Antwerp had grown into one of the most important sugar processing centres in Europe.

Candy sugar was initially a luxury because it was a craft product made on a small scale. In the beginning it was traditionally given to royalty or important visitors such as the German painter Albrecht Dürer, when he stayed in Antwerp for a year in 1520.

Antwerp remained the largest sugar processing centre in the world until the late 17th century.

Antwerp's great wealth dwindled, however, after the city was cut off from the sea by the disastrous Treaty of Munster, which closed the Scheldt to shipping. Many refineries closed down when the raw material had to be brought to Antwerp from Ostend in small boats.

The importation of goods from overseas was completely paralysed during the Napoleonic Wars as a result of the Continental Blockade.

Products such as coffee and cane sugar were the first to suffer. As a countermeasure, Napoleon encouraged the cultivation of chicory and sugar beet on the continent.

The sugar industry moved further away from the port so as to be closer to the inland production areas of sugar beet. In addition, new sugar refining methods were developed that were much faster and less costly. The candy sugar industry suffered badly, and many companies closed down.

Cane sugar made a major return to Antwerp after the Continental Blockade was lifted, and candy sugar processing underwent a revival.

At the end of the 19th century, there were some forty sugar refineries in Antwerp, fifteen of which also refined raw beet sugar. Antwerp was on its way to becoming a global centre for sugar again.

In 1884, Antwerp had seventeen sugar refineries, most of which continued to be sufficiently profitable until the First World War.

There were only fourteen sugar refineries left in Antwerp after the First World War.

The decline accelerated even more after the Second World War. In 1948 the five remaining candy sugar producers decided to join forces in the "Syndicat des Raffineurs Candisiers de Belgique", the Syndicate of Belgian Candy Sugar Refiners.Four of them had already founded the co-operative association of Candico in 1935 to protect their commercial interests and to set up a joint export office.

The market, however, turned out to be too small to guarantee the continued existence of five candy sugar refineries, which meant that only Candico survived.

As the demand for candy sugar products declined, Raffima NV (Raffinaderij Merksem Antwerpen) – one of the few remaining candy sugar works – was taken over by Sucres de Tirlemont.

This company joined forces with Raffinaderij Peten and Kandijfabriek Hens en Herssens to become CANDICO nv.

Consolidation was completed in 1970 by the takeover of the Valère Verfaillie candy sugar refinery in Merksem and the Candiserie of Ath.

Subsequent major strategic steps were taken in the following years: by acquiring candy sugar production units in a number of neighbouring countries (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France), Candico grew into the leading candy sugar producer in Europe and even the entire world.

Using continually modernised production equipment, today's candy sugar products are still manufactured according to the same longstanding tradition in order to guarantee their authentic quality and flavour.

Over the years, Candico has built solid relationships with various producers from South Africa and South America, which have led to structured and strict quality guidelines.

In 2002, Candico was registered as an importer of Fair trade cane sugar.

Candy sugar is produced at Candico according to a longstanding tradition.

Candico's years of tradition and expertise in processing beet sugar in candy sugar products proved fruitful when in 2005, its candy sugar products were recognised as "local products", which means that they meet the strict requirements to bear the official local product label.