Teddy Grays, a traditional sweet factory in Dudley, has been crafting hard-boiled sweets using methods unchanged for nearly two centuries. Founded in 1826 by John Gray, the company continues to produce its signature confections in copper pots, a process that requires intense heat and manual labor, especially challenging during summer months when temperatures in the factory can reach up to 43 degrees Celsius.
The factory remains a family business, currently overseen by David Healy, the longtime sales manager who is married to Julie Healy (née Gray), a direct descendant of the founder. Healy, who has spent four decades at the company, describes the work as demanding, often requiring 80-hour weeks with little time for holidays. Despite the physical strain, he emphasizes the importance of innovation and adaptability to keep the business viable amid rising costs and changing regulations.
At its height in the early 20th century, Teddy Grays operated a dozen retail shops and employed more than 100 workers. The factory was a mainstay in the local community, with firm ties to landmarks such as Dudley Zoo, where sales once reached 200,000 sweets daily. Anecdotes from that era include stories of workers wearing turbans and the presence of a pet monkey inside the premises. The company’s former proprietor, Teddy Gray, was noted for his Rolls-Royce and prominence in the area, even attracting visits from celebrities such as Laurel and Hardy.
Today, the factory employs a small team, with several staff members having worked there for over three decades, including sugar boiler Mark Boden, who has been with the company for 46 years. The production process begins at dawn with skilled sugar boilers managing copper cauldrons filled with molten sugar, followed by a team responsible for crystallizing and shaping the sweets. Protective gear is essential to handle the dangerously hot syrup, which Healy compares to “molten lava.”
Teddy Grays’ product line remains dominated by traditional favorites, with the herbal tablet—a blend of anise and menthol originally crafted by John Gray’s mother—being the most popular. The exact recipe is closely guarded by the family and occasionally subject to counterfeiting. The factory now also serves a growing online customer base, though it has discontinued certain labor-intensive items such as rock candy.
The business faces modern challenges, including increased fuel and sugar costs and stricter health and safety regulations, which have forced operational adjustments like preventing unregulated public access to the premises. Healy acknowledges the uncertainty about the future of the company, as he, his wife, and her brother John are the last family members involved. He reflects on the legacy and the difficult realities of sustaining a small, traditional manufacturer in a rapidly changing economic environment but expresses a quiet pride in the factory’s enduring presence.
“We’re not going to go on forever,” Healy said, noting that the company’s future depends on whether the next generation chooses to carry it forward. Nonetheless, he remains committed to the craft and the community that has supported Teddy Grays for 200 years, offering a final parting gift of the company’s signature herbal tablets as a symbol of its lasting heritage.