manufacturing confectioner - Retail Confectioners International

AUGUST 2013
Vol. 93, No. 7
MANUFACTURING CONFECTIONER
G L OBAL SOURCE FOR CHOCOLATE , C O N F E C T I O N E R Y A N D B I S C U I T I N F O R M AT I O N
GERMAN CONFECTIONERY MARKET
SWEETS & SNACKS NEW PRODUCTS
NIGERIA’S COCOA SECTOR
PACK EXPO PREVIEW
Retail Confectioners International
RCI Convention in Cincinnati
he Retail Confectioners International convention in Cincinnati included the industry exposition, formal and informal educational sessions and
peer networking. In addition, RCI participants
toured five confectionery-related companies.
T
Education
In the talk Leading Strategically in an Ever-Changing Market, Larry Grypp (Goering Center) and Bob
Scallan (Pathway Guidance) discussed best practices in
family businesses and growth strategies for the
future. One of the best practices is to develop and
regularly update a strategic business plan, including
measurements of the results. It is very important that
the plan be shared and discussed with everyone
involved.
Cocoa Market Update was given by Hugo Van der
Goes (Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate). He reviewed current
cocoa bean prices and the status of cocoa’s supply and
demand.
Becoming and Maintaining a Leadership Brand
for Your Business was presented by Jerry Kathman
(LPK, a brand design agency). He shared principles
about design and branding including the recognition
that customers are changing, retailers are changing and
brands are changing.
Rich Graeter (Graeter’s Inc.) told The Graeter’s
Story in preparation for RCI’s visit to one of the
Graeter’s production facilities later in the week. The
family business, now in its fourth generation of ownership, continues to do many tasks the way the
founders did them. “We didn’t modernize ice cream”
like other producers did, he said, meaning they still
make ice cream in two-gallon batches. This creates a
more dense ice cream.
He shared some of the
changes in the company’s “We want the
143 years in business. When business to be in a
he was a child they had four better shape when
French pots in operation. it is passed to the
With the new production next generation.”
facility that was built in
— Rich Graeter
2010 they have 32 French
pots in use.
As the company took risks in expansion they
added brokers and a vice president of sales to manage
those brokers. In working with national retailers,
Graeter said, “Sometimes the right answer is no”
when dealing with some retailers who try to dictate
the price and margin for a product. Graeter’s have
learned to focus on specialty retail shops and have
now expanded to most of the states in the nation.
Graeter said, “We want to the business to be in a
better shape when it is passed to the next generation.”
Tours
RCI visitors observed this Graeter’s employee icing cookies quickly and efficiently.
Graeter’s bakery and chocolate production
Cousins Bob, Chip and Richard Graeter are the current leaders of this ice cream, bakery and confectionery business based in Cincinnati. The facility
included 25,000 sq ft of production space and
1,500 sq ft of retail space. The building was purchased
by the owners’ great-grandmother in the 1930s and
houses the production of confections and baked
goods. In 1994 the the size of this factory was doubled.
The Manufacturing Confectioner • August 2013 31
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There is no air conditioning in this facility’s cooking area so the company reduces confectionery production during the summer.
Graeter’s has one 10″ enrober; it is switched from
milk to dark chocolate as needed. They utilize 500 lb
conditioning tanks (one for milk and one for dark)
and a 450 lb automatic tempering unit for whatever
chocolate is needed. A starch-moulding room is
ready for production when the weather cools.
Graeter’s head confectioner, Steve Hellmich, has
training from the New England Culinary Institute,
RCI candy school and Louis Graeter. He also owned
his own confectionery company.
In Ohio there are 30 Graeter’s stores to supply with
baked goods, candy and ice cream (the baked goods
are sold only in 16 local stores). The company’s sales
ratio is approximately 70 percent ice cream, 20 percent bakery and 10 percent candy.
Golden Turtle Chocolate Factory
Graeter’s ice
cream
is
made in a
French pot
batch process.
The mix is
placed into a
chilled, spinning French
pot. As the
cream freezes
on the sidewall of the
pot, a blade
g e n t l y
scrapes the
The Graeter’s French pot process — the blade raised
before the chocolate chunks are incorporated
wall, folding
into the frozen cream.
the
cream
into itself. It takes about 20 minutes to freeze a
two-gallon batch. For flavors that include
chocolate chips, a low-melting-temperature
liquid chocolate is poured into the pot, and
freezes into a thin shell on top of the ice cream.
A worker uses a blade to break up this shell and
mix it into the ice cream, making large chips
and flakes. The resulting ice cream has a butterfat content between 16 and 18 percent and
has no air whipped into it, so it is denser than
others. It must be handpacked.
— from Graeter’s website
Ted Kossouji of Golden Turtle Chocolate Factory shows
RCI visitors the pitcher he uses for softened peanut butter in
producing giant peanut butter cups. Looking on are
Judith Hilliard McCarthy (Hilliard’s House of Candy),
Mike and Jim Crudden (Rosalind Candy Castle).
Ted and Joy Kossouji are the owners of Golden Turtle Chocolate Factory in Lebanon, Ohio. Production of their giant peanut butter cups was
demonstrated during the RCI tour — tempered
chocolate is poured into muffin cup liners, warmed
peanut butter is
then poured in and
topped with more
chocolate.
This
confection is decorated by inserting
and swirling a small
stick.
Golden Turtle’s giant peanut butter cups.
The name of the
32 August 2013 • The Manufacturing Confectioner
President’s Award
At the annual awards banquet, the annual President’s Award was presented by outgoing RCI
president Jason Coblentz to Jay and Kathy King
of Marie’s Chocolates.
In his speech, he said that Jay and Kathy
were the first ones who invited Jason and Mary
Coblentz to become RCI members. Jay also
encouraged Jason to attend the Pulakos Candy
School (he did in 1990). Jason said that Jay and
Kathy were there for them and mentored them
through the years. Jason remembers calling
Jay quite often in the beginning about chocolate tempering problems. Jay and Kathy also
helped Jason and Mary find suppliers and
sources over the years.
RCI annual convention 2013
store comes from nearby Turtle Creek and local
restaurant Golden Lamb. The city’s history includes
references to a local legendary Native American
tribal chief called Little Turtle.
Esther Price Candies, Corp.
Esther Price Candies, based in Dayton, Ohio, was
purchased from its namesake in 1976 by Jim Day and
three partners.
The
Day family is
now
sole
owner of the
company
with
its
12,150 sq ft
of production area and
six
retail
stores (a sevA cozy seating area, mirrors and rich colors enhance
the display of gifts and confections at Esther Price Candies. enth store in
Cincinnati will open this fall). In addition, the company wholesales its chocolates through Kroger, Meijer and other grocery chains.
A new kitchen was added at Esther Price in 2012.
Twelve cream beaters are used to create centers for
confections. At peak production, approximately 125
employees produce up to 10,000 boxes a day — handpacked with hand-tied ribbons. Full production
starts in September. The company’s goal is to get its
warehouse full by Thanksgiving with 1 lb, 2 lb and
8 oz gold boxes. The usual schedule is 30 weeks of
production and then shut down for 20 weeks in the
summer (starting after Easter) for routine maintenance and intense cleaning.
business a new home when in 1996, 40 years after the
business began, they restored a 1920s-era train depot
to become their showroom.
Marie’s Candies’ showroom, a former train depot, offered
corners full of charming gifts and displays. Elena Macris
from Philadelphia Candies and other RCI guests gathered ideas.
Marie’s Candies
Jay and Kathy King, Shannon King and Rebecca King
Craig hosted the tour of Marie’s Candies, now in its
third generation of operation in West Liberty, Ohio.
Jay’s mother and father (Marie and Winfred)
started the business in their kitchen, having seen
positive reaction from the candies they made as
thank-you gifts to neighbors helping Winfred deal
with the effects of polio.
The second generation, Jay and Kathy, gave the
The Manufacturing Confectioner • August 2013 33
RCI annual convention 2013
Innovation at Marie’s Candies was demonstrated by
bolting together utility knives for equal and even
cutting.
Now the third generation, Jay and
Kathy’s son, Shannon, and daughter, Rebecca, are continuing to
retain high quality standards, customer satisfaction and resourcefulness as their goals.
Galerie USA
Galerie is based in Hebron, Kentucky, where they create licensed
and branded confectionery gifts.
Built in 2012, the 270,000 sq ft
facility houses their headquarters,
domestic production and warehouse. Galerie’s licensed partnerhips include Hershey, Disney,
Peanuts and Nascar.
In 1985, after a successful businesses selling chocolate and confectionery gifts at retail, the
company started wholesaling the
products to grow the business.
Creating approximately 1,200
new items a year, Galerie coordinates the design and production
of their product range at facilities
in the United States, China and
Mexico.
The company considers its
strengths to be design, packaging, warehouse, distribution and
logistics.
Candy Clinic
Presentations voted by peers as best
in each category are noted first.
Best New Piece
Maurie’s Fine Chocolates named its new
truffle with a nod to the owner’s dad and
his aura throughout the shop.
Maurie’s Fine Chocolates of
Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)
developed a new dark chocolate
truffle with a caramel-infused
chocolate ganache. They named
it Aura.
Bornhofft Award
Retail Confectioners
International
(RCI) presented the
2013 Henry
J. Bornhofft
Memorial
Award to Sam Duerr II at the
convention. It was accepted in
his absence by Sam Duerr III.
Antioxidant Ambrosia from Hilliard’s
House of Candy.
Hilliard’s House of Candy
(North Easton, Massachusetts) offers
snack mixes in their store and
they have now developed a fruit,
nut and seed confection called
Antioxidant Ambrosia. The treat
includes 72% chocolate, cranberries, pepitas and sunflower seeds.
Two squares of the confections
are offered in a bag by the cash
register for easy sale.
Special treats for vegans at Kakao Chocolate.
Kakao Chocolate (St. Louis, Missouri) presented truffles for vegan
Coblentz Chocolate’s new item includes coconut.
Coblentz Chocolate Co. (Walnut
Creek, Ohio) offers a caramel
coconut patty comprised of
toasted coconut enrobed with
caramel and chocolate.
34 August 2013 • The Manufacturing Confectioner
and vegetarian customers. Their
product developers were encouraged to create a no-cream, nobutter truffle. Incorporating
cherry puree and grapeseed oil,
the chocolate item is topped
with a dried cherry.
RCI annual convention 2013
New piece category (continued)
(Their nut, caramel and chocolate confection is called
Tur’kins.)
salted peanuts, rice crisps and
corn flakes all combined with
tempered chocolate on a sheet
pan for a light snack.
Using what could go to waste — potato
chip crumbles — Marie’s Candies created a
new confection.
Marie’s Candies (West Liberty,
Ohio) presented Chip’kins consisting of crumbled potato chips
and caramel and chocolate. They
funnel caramel over a pile of
crushed potato chips and then
enrobe the piece with chocolate.
Wockenfuss is ready for the football season with
chocolate-enrobed Oreos in football shapes.
In Florida, Whetstone Chocolates names items with
a nod to a local creature: Gator Bait.
Whetstone Chocolates (St. Augustine, Florida) produces Gator Bait,
which is broken pretzel pieces,
Wockenfuss Candy Co. (Baltimore, Maryland) dips footballshaped Oreos in chocolate and then
applies “stringing” of confectionery
coating in white or in a specific
color for local sports teams.
INTRODUCING
SAVAGE Re-Engineered
WC SMITH ENROBING LINE
Updated to today’s PLC Touch-Screen control technology and current
manufacturing methods, Savage re-introduces the 16”/400mm and
24”/600mm chocolate coating lines. The lines are uniquely designed with
‘plug-n-play’ modules for easy and flexible future expansion. Modules
include Pre-Bottomer with Cold Plate, Enrober, self-contained Cooling
Tunnel sections with two or three cooling zones, and in-feed and packout tables. Space for hand decorating or automatic stringer is included.
The line features a single PLC control for belt speed with tracker and all
functions.
1125 Lunt Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 USA
www.SavageBros.com
[email protected]
847-981-3000
The Manufacturing Confectioner • August 2013 35
RCI annual convention 2013
Bill McConville/Innovation
Sweet
Christmas
Mary’s
(Pilesgrove, New Jersuggested
sey)
Sweet Mary’s uses a
simple clam knife to
break up 10 lb blocks of
chocolate.
using a simple
clam knife to
break up 10 lb
blocks of chocolate into chunks.
With its rigid
blade and easy-tohold handle, it
makes quick work
of the task.
Whetstone
Chocolates (St. Augustine, Florida)
showed the design and photos of
its hot box — a place to keep
compound
coating
melted
and
moulds
warm.
The
source
of heat
is sevWhetstone Chocolates shared the
concept of a hot box for confectioners. eral 100
watt
bulbs which keeps the box at
approximately 110°F.
Reusing old chocolate moulds for a new generation
at Vande Walle’s Candies.
Hunting is the theme for Vande Walle’s
Tree Bark confection.
Vande Walle’s Candies (Appleton,
Wisconsin) capitalizes on the fact
that fall and winter in Wisconsin
mean deer, duck and turkey hunting for many people. English toffee chocolate bars (remaining
from their fundraising stock) are
ground in the nut grinder, added
to melted chocolate and marketed
as Tree Bark. These are sold in a
nearby mall as stocking stuffers
and for “hunting widows” who
shop while husbands are away.
Vande Walle’s Candies (Appleton,
Wisconsin) moulded chocolate
from an old-style cellphone
mould, then adhered conversation
hearts to create a text message.
Gimmicks sometimes work well as
something unusual for gifts.
Miscellaneous Holiday
Valentine’s Day
Unique gift wrap creations with paper, crayons,
bows from Boehm’s. Customer supplies the artwork.
Other Candy Clinic Awards
Both the President’s Choice award
and the All-Around Best
Presentation award went to Jasper
Gift Basket and Popcorn Co.,
which entered in First Timer and
Summer categories.
Morkes Chocolates helped design a heart box for
their chocolate-covered strawberries.
Morkes Chocolates (Palatine, Illinois) found that their heart box
was too small for their chocolatecovered strawberries. They
worked with a box supplier to
design a more appropriate size
and style.
36 August 2013 • The Manufacturing Confectioner
Boehm’s Candies (Issaquah, Washington) offers the option of having
their chocolates wrapped in kraft
paper for customers to decorate.
Children enjoy using crayons
(included) to personalize the package and customers are encouraged
to bring along their own props
(photos, tie-ons, etc.).
RCI annual convention 2013
Misc. holiday category (continued)
Kakao’s light summer treat with a kick.
Morkes Chocolate turned confectionery mistakes
into a featured item.
Morkes Chocolate (Palatine, Illinois) had problems with its
caramel apple spinner so they had
some leftover mixed caramel and
peanuts to reuse. They decided to
sell the Glop separately. It was so
popular they have to make it on
purpose. The product includes
“everything but the apple.”
New packaging for many seasons from Morley
Candy Makers/Sanders Candy
Morley Candy Makers/Sanders
Candy (Clinton Township, Michigan)
offered caramel mini eggs (5 or 6
in each box) and coconut nests;
this packaging has now expanded
to 15 types of products for Christmas, Valentine’s, fall, etc.
Kakao Chocolate (St. Louis, Missouri) offers strawberry black pepper chocolate bark which uses
freeze-dried strawberries.
Whetstone Chocolates exchanged modern Easter
bags for traditional Easter baskets for corporate gifts.
Whetstone Chocolates (St.
Augustine, Florida) offers Bunny
Bags rather than traditional
Easter baskets. Corporate gifts
are prepacked with a chocolate
rabbit, speckled malt eggs and
tissue paper in cheery yellow
bags for businesses to give to
employees for the spring holiday.
Several styles of chocolate moustaches on
sticks for Facebook photo fun.
Summer
Coblentz Chocolate Co. (Walnut
Creek, Ohio) noticed a moustache
trend recently and the company
features that trend in its confections. Moulding several types of
chocolate moustache lollipops,
Coblentz encourages customers
to take photos with the lollipop
and then post these photos on
Facebook.
Easter
Schimpff’s Confectionery decorates sheets of Rice
Krispie treats to encourage summer consumption of
candy at parties.
Bomboy’s Ninja Turtles all dressed up for Easter.
Bomboy’s Home Made Candies
(Havre de Grace, Maryland) featured Ninja Turtle chocolate
moulds decorated like the franchised comic book heroes.
Schimpff ’s Confectionery ( Jeffersonville, Indiana) used large
“sheets” of Rice Krispie treats and
decorated them for summer. Nutter Butters are also decorated in
“yellow polka dot bikini” colors
and sprinkles. Larger versions are
offered for parties.
The Manufacturing Confectioner • August 2013 37
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Summer category (continued)
together in a unique En Voyage
(on the go) box which is stamped
with an airplane. These packages
are placed at the counter for
impulse sales. Other varieties are
offered with sea salt, toffee bits
and pecans.
As local school children design ads for
Charlie’s Chocolate Factory, the business gets
additional exposure with many generations.
Several summer items from Jasper Gift Basket and
Popcorn Company.
Jasper Gift Basket and Popcorn
Co. ( Jasper, Indiana) produces a
cherry key lime bar which
includes crunchies and cherry-red
wafers, drizzled with Key lime
wafers. The also sell Cherry
Flower Pots, which are moulded
flower lollipops in a small planter.
Their Candyland Cone is an ice
cream cone filled with chocolate,
marshmallow and sprinkles.
Advertising
Charlie’s Chocolate Factory
(Burnaby, British Columbia) works
with their local paper when
school children design ads for
area businesses.
Packaging
Birnn Chocolates of Vermont,
Inc. (South Burlington, Vermont)
offers truffles packaged within a
fliptop box
for
local
retailers. The
shallow tray
and moulded
plastic cover
Special packaging to protect
the
and display truffles from protect
Birnn Chocolates.
product.
Merchandising and
Promotion
Boehm’s Candies (Issaquah, Washington) offers a “paint kit” comprised of a 6 oz bar of
premoulded chocolate, five summer colors of compound coating
in microwaveable containers,
paint brushes and instructions.
This item is popular for parties.
Boehm’s offers insulated totes
for certain items in the summer,
noting that plastic bags are no
longer allowed for stores in the
Seattle area. This regulation
offered an opportunity to
Boehm’s to provide a free insulated tote with certain sales totals.
Some of the items Kakao offers in its co-op program.
Kakao Chocolate (St. Louis, Missouri) developed a cooperative
program with other local businesses. Wineries, yarn shops, coffee roasters and other companies
barter products and services and
display each other’s wares in the
stores.
Innovative yet stylish to-go packaging from
Maurie’s Fine Chocolates of Madison
Maurie’s Fine Chocolates of
Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)
creates slabbed sheets of plain,
solid chocolate they call “Skinnies.” They package several sheets
38 August 2013 • The Manufacturing Confectioner
Rather than sending chocolates, Charlie’s Chocolate
Factory teams with area businesses to give gift certificates for a box of assorted chocolates. When
the recipient goes to the store all the other
products are on display.
Charlie’s Chocolate Factory
(Burnaby, British Columbia) helps
corporate customers and their
own business with a gift card pro-
RCI annual convention 2013
Merch. & Promotion category (continued)
gram. For example, a mortgage
company sends cards of thanks
(with an offer for free chocolates)
to their customers; the recipient
then goes to Charlie’s Chocolate
Factory to pick up the gift. The
business doesn’t have to mail the
chocolate and the program brings
people into the store. Customers
turn in the cards and get the 1 lb
box with a chocolate rose on top.
Jelly Belly Candy Co. (Fairfield,
California) has two stores in their
company visitor centers. In a partnership with Disney, they presented a princess-theme featuring
their iridescent line of Jelly Belly
beans. These are merchandised in
a Cinderella slipper as a favor or
with a placecard for table settings.
A retired Army vehicle parked in front of store
drew a crowd for Memorial Day at
Stephen Libs Finer Chocolates.
Stephen Libs Finer Chocolates
(Evansville, Indiana) worked with a
local collector of vehicles formerly
used by the armed services to have
a special Memorial Day promotion. At no cost to the company,
this collector placed one of his
Army trucks in front of the
Stephen Libs Finer Chocolates
store, only a few blocks away from
the local veterans hospital, during
the two weeks prior to Memorial
Day. With reminders to “support
our troups,” the truck brought
attention to the shop.
First-timers
Selected Confectionery Books
Chocolates & Confections
By Peter P. Greweling
Fundamental information for the confectioner
includes ingredient
function and use,
chocolate processing,
and artisan production
techniques.
388 pgs.
US$65
Fine Chocolates, Great
Experience
By Jean-Pierre Wybauw
More than 100 original
chocolate recipes are
described in detail and
illustrated with superb
photographs.
228 pgs.
US$105
Fine Chocolates 2, Great
Ganache Experience
Jasper Gift Basket and Popcorn shows pride in
their state.
Jasper Gift Basket and Popcorn
Co. ( Jasper, Indiana) highlights
their Hoosier State and its interest in sports by featuring colorful
and chocolate-embellished popcorn. Their newest popcorn creation is called “Hoosier Pop,” a
vanilla popcorn with red hot cinnamon and white chocolate drizzle. They also produce a chocolate
popcorn pizza, consisting of milk
chocolate, peanut butter and
white wafers, pretzels and vanilla
popcorn. Jasper’s offers 90 flavors
n
of popcorn.
By Jean-Pierre Wybauw
A myriad of applications, techniques, tips
and recipes to creatively
process ganache into
pralines, all illustrated
with photographs.
205 pgs.
US$105
Fine Chocolates, Great
Experience 3, Extending Shelf
Life
By Jean-Pierre Wybauw
This book deals with
the most frequently
used raw materials and
explains how they
impact the quality and
shelf life of pralines.
223 pgs.
US$105
Chocolate Decorations
By Jean-Pierre Wybauw
More than 100 original
chocolate decoration
techniques, explained
with clear action
images.
200 pgs.
US$105
MC Publishing Company
www.gomc.com/books.html
711 W Water St, Princeton, WI 54968 USA
Tel: +1 (920) 295 6969
Fax: +1 (920) 295 6843
The Manufacturing Confectioner • August 2013 39