About our move from Sacramento to Reno

digital image of reno arch; reads: "Reno, The biggest little candy company in the world in the biggest little city in the world"

This article was in the Nevada Spirit trade magazine. It focused on Kimmie Candy Company's decision to relocate to Reno, NV.

High Desert Dreams

As the Cost of Doing Business Increases Nationwide, Many Companies Are Relocating to Business-Friendly Nevada.

 In 2004, Joe Dutra, the founder of Kimmie Candy Company, faced a difficult decision. Dutra, a long-time California resident and entrepreneur, wanted to relocate the production side of his candy company from Korea back to the United States. But with the rising costs associated with an ever-dwindling supply of California real estate, it was not economically feasible to build a candy factory in Sacramento, where Kimmie Candy was then headquartered. "We wanted to expand a little bit somewhere between fifteen and twenty thousand square feet," Dutra explains, “and there just weren't options available to us in California."

For Dutra and his team of loyal, family-oriented employees-some of whom had been with the company since its inception-the idea of moving out of Sacramento presented daunting challenges. "We're from an old farming family in the Sacramento area. We farmed around the Sacramento area and we still have a historical home down there. There's a history there, and the people who worked for me were a part of an old community that itself has a lot of history in Sacramento, so it was difficult for us to consider moving to Reno. But I wanted to have more control over my destiny."

For Dutra, controlling the destiny of Kimmie Candy meant choosing the most economically viable location for producing panned candies, which require a very low-humidity environment. After visiting several different states throughout the west, he narrowed the possibilities to Texas, Utah, and Nevada. "Then we looked at the cost of insurance, like workers' comp," Dutra explains, "and we looked at labor availability, and the friendliness of the business environment. In Nevada we have less corporate taxes and less inventory taxes. For many of these reasons we ended up choosing Reno. Since then we've gone from being an infant company to one that has national distribution and national recognition. The factory in Nevada gives us credibility in the U.S. market."

National recognition for Kimmie Candy Company means a cover photo and feature profile this month in Candy Industry Magazine, the premiere industry magazine for candy manufacturers in the United States.

The magazine, whose cover portrays Dutra underneath the Reno arch, will be widely distributed at this year's All Candy Expo in Chicago, a boon both for Dutra's business and for the state of Nevada.

Frustrated by complicated corporate tax structures, many companies nationwide are relocating to Nevada, narrowing the search for new corporate headquarters or new manufacturing plants to the most business friendly state in the county. By virtue of its state constitution, Nevada does not have corporate income taxes, franchise taxes, and capital gains taxes for businesses. Workers' compensation rates are significantly lower than in other states (as much as 75% lower), and captive insurance programs are competitive with offshore domiciles. Many Nevada legislators are also business owners and are committed to resolving business issues before they become major problems.