Clarke founded his own company,
Clabir, headquartered in
Greenwich, Connecticut. The name "Clabir" was created by combining his last name "Clarke" with his mother's name, "Bird." Clarke introduced Klondike bars to consumers throughout the United States during the 1980s. Under Clarke, sales of the Klondike bar increased from $800,000 annually at the time of the acquisition by Clabir to more than $60 million. In 1989, after he had sold Klondike due to a corporate hostile take over, Clarke entered the British ice cream market. Clarke had signed an agreement of non-competition when he sold Klondike, which limited his ability to market similar products in the U.S. domestic market. However, it did not preclude him from pursuing ventures in the United Kingdom. He initially purchased a group of ice cream brands from Hillsdown Holdings in 1989. However, his breakthrough into the British market came when he acquired
Lyons Maid, a major ice cream brand, from Allied Lyons for just
£13.3 million . Clarke and his three sons reformed Lyons Maid. He combined all of Lyons Maid's operations into two new, modern factories. He repackaged Zoom lollipops, which led to an increase in sales. Clarke also moved into direct competition with
Häagen-Dazs by introducing super premium ice cream and marketing Lyons Maid products at high-profile venues, such as
Wimbledon. Clarke founded the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues at Dickinson College, his
alma mater. He served as a Dickinson trustee from 1978 until his death in 2013. ==Death==