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SWEETS & TREATS SHOW EXTRA www.gourmetnews.com n MAY 2020 n GOURMET NEWS ST 2 8 community. While we're proud of our storied heritage, everything we do is only possi- ble through the work of our dedicated employees and the support of our beloved local community. We'd like to thank everyone for their boundless love, care and generosity. We're thrilled to be celebrating a century together, and we look forward to hundreds more! Our vision is a future filled with new flavor profiles and exceptionally handcrafted chocolates that we hope anchor family and holiday celebrations for years to come. In this spirit of forg- ing forward, we're excited to share how we're continually innovating to surprise and delight chocolate lovers of the future. As a landmark Chicago institution, our community roots run deep. At Fannie May, we cheer for the Chicago Cubs, we eat deep dish pizza and we care about our customers. When our Master Chocolatier ideates new products in the test kitchen, they're made with you in mind. That's why we're launching two indulgent snack mixes – S'mores and Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzels – avail- able in a 5-ounce sharing size and 2- ounce single serve. Americans are looking for original recipes that evoke happy and familiar connections. What holds more nostalgic appeal than s'mores? With delicious mix- tures of crunchy graham cereal, fluffy Fannie May (Cont'd. from p. 1) marshmallows and milk chocolate, this new product will immediately transport you back to carefree days spent snacking around a campfire. In answer to consumer demand, each snack mix is made with no artificial preservatives, no artificial flavors and no artificial colors. Every company is known for its classics. Fannie May fans are likely already familiar with ours: refreshing Mint Meltaways ® , caramel pecan Pixies ® , and deliciously creamy Peanut Butter Buckeyes. While the time-old adage asks why you should fix some- thing that's not broken, we're simply improving upon our iconic recipes to make them even better. February marked the debut of Double Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Pixies ® , a twist on our classic Pixie, to celebrate our 100th year in the business and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to innovation. This indulgent, dark choco- late and sea salted treat is available for consumer purchase at all Fannie May stores through the end of 2020. This fall, we're revamping our entire packaging line to reflect a contemporary look. The refresh extends to our 57 Chicagoland retail stores, too! For more information, go to www .fanniemay.com or call 330.494.0833. Find the company on social media at @FannieMayChocolates on Instagram or @FannieMayChocolates on Facebook. Chocolates and IT'SUGAR) provides a diverse offering to the specialty and mass confectionery market. Las Olas is com- mitted to growing our great brands and developing 'waves' of innovative new products like our 2017 sofi™ Product of Year and 2017 MINPA award-winning Coconut Cashew Crunch – Chocolate Drizzle and our 2016 & 2018 sofi™ award winning Money on Honey Dark Chocolate French Sea Salt and Toasted Coconut Almond Varieties. GN: What are some of your most popular products? LD: By far, our most popular product is our Anastasia Confections Coconut Patties (a moist open-faced coconut con- fection). We have been manufacturing this Florida staple for over 30 years and it has developed a cult-like following. A close tie for second would be our Coconut Island Coconut Cashew Crunch – Original (a tropical, thin twist on a clas- sic brittle, filled with cashews and coconut) and Money on Honey Dark Chocolate French Sea Salt (a unique clean caramel made with wildflower honey, instead of corn syrup). GN: What other products do you manu- facture? LD: Currently we produce salt water taffy, molded chocolate, chocolate enrobed classic snacks (like Oreo ® cook- ies, pretzels and grahams), caramel, tof- fee, brittle, bark, truffles and fudge. In addition to supporting our own brands, we offer private label manufacturing as well as co-packing. Las Olas (Cont'd. from p. 1) GN: Are you introducing any new prod- ucts this year? LD: Absolutely! We are launching sever- al new products across our brands this year. From Anastasia, we are launching Milk Chocolate Coconut Almond and Dark Chocolate Key Lime bars, two indulgent tropical treats. From Money on Honey, our brand of Clean Wildflower Honey Caramels, we are introducing Milk Chocolate French Sea Salt, a high- ly-requested milk chocolate version of our most popular flavor. From our Coconut Island line, we are launching three new products: Coconut Cashew Crunch – Raspberry, made with all the goodness of our original flavor with a premium, fruity kick, and Coconut Cashew Crunch Bark in Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate. These new bark varieties include coconut, cashews and pieces of our signature Coconut Cashew Crunch brittle mixed into rich milk or dark chocolate then dusted with more coconut, sure to take you on a crunchy, coconutty, chocolate tropical taste adven- ture! GN: What is your favorite Las Olas Confections and Snacks product? LD: We manufacture so many great products and I love each in its own way. I'm a bit omnivorous when it comes to confections. Thankfully, we produce such a diversified set of products so I can indulge all my candy cravings, from fruity chewy taffy to buttery-rich, crunchy toffee, and of course, an occa- sional Coconut Patty! For more information, go to www.las olasbrands.com or call 800.329.7100. chocolate and macadamia nut experi- ence, the iconic Hawaii company has been offering a variety of high-quality, delicious products since 1927. Headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaiian Host spreads the spirit of the Islands throughout the globe via its wide assort- ment of premium chocolate and Hawaiian Host (Cont'd. from p. 4) macadamia nut selections. For more information, go to www.hawaiian host.com or www.hawaiianhostgroup.com, call 808.842.7312 or email mjacinto@ hawaiianhostgroup.com. Find the company on social media at www.facebook .com/hawaiianhostinc, www.instagram .com/hawaiianhostinc and www.twitter .com/hawaiianhostinc. check, the 12-ounce trays are packed just eight per case and have a six-month shelf life. For a very minimal purchase, retail- ers are able to carry several flavors to create a wow effect for their customers. Six-ounce and 2-ounce sizes are also available. Private Labeling Another area that has changed in retailing is the explosive growth of private labeled products. While most traditional brand growth has been small, many private label brands have grown as much as 20 percent annually. Our company meets this need by offering a very low-cost, low-minimum private labeling program. We have a very small one-time charge. We produce the customer's labels in- house on commercial printing equipment in order to offer a high-quality look. This allows retailers to try various flavors at Country Fresh (Cont'd. from p. 4) no additional costs. Fudge Mix Labor is a significant issue in maintaining a made-on-the-premises fudge program. Environmental concerns and health risks such as cross-contamination are becoming bigger issues for retailers who have made a significant investment in this type of pro- gram. We have solved many of these issues by first offering a competitively priced fudge mix made with premium ingredients such as Belgian chocolate and RSPO sourced palm oil, but secondly, by also offering a huge selection of pre-made fla- vors that the retailer does not have to have labor to produce. This allows the retailer to concentrate on just making a few flavors while purchasing the rest, often at a cost that's cheaper than making their own. For more information, go to www .countryfreshfood.com or email info @countryfreshfood.com. pouch; the collection of bonbons; a col- lection of chocolate-covered caramels in milk and dark chocolate with Maine sea salt as well as a Pumpkin Caramel nod to fall; and drinking chocolate. Some of the Bixby Bars are vegan; some are organic; all are made with ethically sourced chocolate in a dedicated gluten-free facil- ity and no corn syrup. The Maine Sea-Salted Caramel is the company's best-seller. It's non-GMO, corn syrup-free caramel enrobed in dark or milk chocolate and sprinkled with Maine coast sea salt made from evaporat- ed ocean water. "I think it has the taste of Maine in that it has the 'mar-oir' of the ocean water," McAleer said. At the 1,900 square foot retail space attached to her factory in Rockland, Maine, McAleer often finds herself edu- cating customers who've stopped in on their tour of Maine's historic fishing vil- lages. "We like to think that we're a treasure hunt of our downtown area to find our tasting room," she said. McAleer has found that her entry into the grocery channel has depended on retail chains with programs for diverse suppliers. She certified as a women- owned business, and through that certifi- cation she's been able to get her products into chains that look for those businesses, she said. "We're 100 percent woman- owned," she said. "We're one of three to four certified women-owned candy man- ufacturing companies in the U.S." Bixby & Company (Cont'd. from p. 1) She's now venturing into more new products, focusing heavily on seasonality with products like her fall and winter col- lection of luxury bonbons, cleaner ver- sions of American classics and white chocolate. "There's been a lot of focus on dark chocolate – really dark chocolate. I think white chocolate and milk chocolate are going to be getting a new look," she said. "I think it's time for a new look at white chocolate with more flavorful options and interesting inclusions. We'd be looking at less tainted inclusions and more avant-garde inclusions." All the bonbons in Bixby & Company's new collection are made with non-GMO and gluten-free chocolate. They also incorporate local Maine ingre- dients such as blueberries, lavender, roses, honey, strawberries, maple syrup, sea salt and more. The following bonbon flavors are new: Maine Blueberry Jam, Espresso Tahini, Maine Maple Vanilla, Coffee Brandy Truffle, Pecan Pie Truffle, Cranberry Orange Smash, Maine Apple Cider Caramel, Fig and Balsamic Truffle, Peppermint Dark Chocolate and also Champagne. Bonbons are available in six-piece collections with a suggested retail price of $16 or 12-piece collections with a $32 suggested retail price. Choose from all of one flavor or assorted flavors. For more information, visit www .bixbyco.com. To place a wholesale order, call 207.691.2634 or email info@bixbyco.com.