Candy, beer and tea - and steady growth: checking in with Colorado companies to watch alumni.

• Author: Cote, Mike

A candy maker closing in on its first century A craft brewer celebrating its 15th year in business. A specialty tea maker that marked its fifth anniversary last year. These three Colorado Companies to Watch alumni are helping expand the "Made in Colorado" brand beyond the state while providing jobs and a financial boost to their communities.

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Now in its fourth year, the Colorado Companies to Watch program has celebrated 200 second-stage companies that represent the state's burgeoning entrepreneurial climate. Hammond's Candies (2011), Oskar Blues (2010) and Bhakti Chai (2011) all have made a mark in their respective industries. We recently visited these companies to check in on their progress and to capture the excitement of manufacturing for a series of video profiles that can be viewed at cobizrnag.com.

The Colorado Companies to Watch program has celebrated a diverse group of companies that represent a wide variety Of industries statewide, from Front Range infOrmation technology companies like Associated Content (2010) that got snatched up by Yahoo! for a cool S100 million to niche manufacturers in rural parts of the state, such as Montrose-based Colorado Yurts Company (2009), a maker of yurts, tipis and canvas bungalows.

What executives with Bhakti Chai, Oskar Blues and Hammond's Candies have to say about second-stage companies has universal appeal. Whether they're trying to grow a business that provides services or one that makes things, high-growth companies all share common challenges.

Hammond's Candies:

Hitting second-stage at 90 yews

Hammond's Candies CEO Andy Schuman was among a group of investors who purchased the iconic company--the largest maker 01 hand-made hard candies in the nation five years ago. He and his partners had a tough ride shortly afterward when sonic or the company's inventory went had.

"It really hampered our borrowing ability with our lender." Schuman said during an interview at the company's retail showroom inside its Denver factory headquarters. "We've since been through four banks. In 2010. we hooked up with Colorado Lending Source and First Bank. and we were a recipient. of stimulus funds, close to 3200,000 over a five-year period, which was a significant sayings for us. It allowed us to move banks, lock in better interest rates, and now we're really on a great path in terms of our debt structure."

Among Schuman's greatest challenges was to retool the company to meet the modern...