About Us -- History of Marshmallow Cone Company (Marpro)

The History of Marpro and the Marshmallow Cone Company

Marshmallow Products (Marpro) was founded in 1936 by John V. Arbino, a tailor. During the Great Depression, Mr. Arbino observed that while people did not always have money for tailor-made clothes, they did always seem to have pennies for candy! So, with that in mind, Mr. Arbino bought a beater and started into the marshmallow candy business – making clothes during the day and marshmallow treats at night. He made everything he could think of out of marshmallow and on Saturdays he would load up his car and put his products onto city grocery store shelves on consignment. So long as an item sold, he continued to make it. In January of 1964, the founder was succeeded by his son, Jack. The business continued to grow and prosper. By the mid-1970’s it was evident that the company’s future was the Marshmallow-Filled Ice Cream Cone. All other items were discontinued as the company modernized its equipment and dedicated its resources to the manufacture of this unique item. After a long and successful run, Jack Arbino sold the business in 1999 to Fred and Sandy Runk. Fred and Sandy were already involved in the candy business through Murray Bros. Old Time Stores, their chain of retail candy stores, which had been operating in Cincinnati since 1858. From their stores, they knew the Marshmallow Cones were an excellent seller. Shortly thereafter the business moved just a couple miles down the road to a new, modern facility and the Runk family continues to personally manage the daily operations of the plant.

Every aspect of the Marshmallow Cone’s production has always been done completely in-house at company facilities -- from baking the cone on rotary gas-fired baking machines, to filling it with marshmallow made in a steel kettle, to packing the cone and shipping it from the attached warehouse to its customers – all made and done entirely in the U.S.A. Marshmallow Cones are as close to handmade as any candy can get short of grandma’s kitchen!

Marshmallow Cones continue to enjoy wide popularity across the United States and are sold in many well known stores and outlets including Stop N Shop, Roundy’s Supermarkets, Bob Evans restaurants and Oriental Trading, as well as numerous candy and snack distributors. We have commercial and individual customers in all fifty states.

To this day, the formulas and recipes for the marshmallow filling and the cone remain the same as they were 70 years ago and many of the original customers who ate them as kids now enjoy sharing Marshmallow Cones – and their memories – with their grandchildren!

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