The Candy Show

A Day in the Life of the Candy with King Chocolate or maybe the Chocolate G-d not sure he did not talk.

This week is the candy show I am very lucky the show is in Chicago so I don't have to travel to a far off location just to McCormick place. I normally go the first and last day of the show which is why I am writing today.

For those who are wondering the show is actually a lot of work. Yes I ate my way through 22 aisles of candy, confections, and snacks. Some were potential products for the store while others where just yummy treats. Thank you to Mars for the awesome Ice Cream sandwich lunch much appreciated.

For me the most important part of the show is touching base with my current suppliers who in many cases I only see once a year.  This face time allows me to let them know what works and what we would like to see. Additionally it allows me to tell some of the managers how great their customer service staff is. In one case the manager actually pulled out his blackberry and shot off an email thanking the staff person.

This year I found many new products that will grace the pages of this blog for the weeks to come some of the products will even make Mom's happy too!

Stay tuned as I plan on using the blog as a means to release the news about the new products in the store. 
 
Have a sweet day!

David

Play Ball

As the Summer rolls around Illinois Nut & Candy goes through a transition, from very busy and chaotic to a more normal regular stream of customers.  While my staff prefers slow & steady, I think I prefer insanity.

The question has always been how to get both the retail store and the online store to be busier during the summer. If you have any ideas please shoot me an email, I would love to hear your thoughts.

However I digress, this summer we are trying a new idea; we are giving away FREE tickets to two professional team sports. Not the Bulls and not the White Sox, but close. We have partnered with the Chicago Sky and the Chicago Bandits to offer our blog readers and shoppers a fun family activity at no cost to them.  Here is the only catch, the events are in the Chicago area so I must sincerely apologize to my out of town followers. (unless your travel plans include dates that are on game days)

Here is how you can enter to win:
(Enter as often as you like, as many ways as you like.)

1. Come in the store and drop a business card, which will opt you into our monthly e-mail list
2. Join our monthly e-mail list by clicking on the "Join My List" link on our Facebook page.
3. Comment on this blog post
4. Like any posts on our Facebook page which mention the Chicago Sky or Chicago Bandits
5. Retweet one of the following posts on your Twitter:

• @illinoisnut will #Giveaway 100 tickets to ChicagoSky and ChicagoBandits games this summer http://bit.ly/j0ykNk @NPFBandits @wnbachicagosky
  
• #Enter to win tickets all summer long to see #ChicagoSky basketball games from @illinoisnut http://bit.ly/j0ykNk #giveaway @wnbachicagosky
  
• #Enter to win tickets all summer long to see #ChicagoBandits baseball games from @illinoisnut http://bit.ly/j0ykNk #giveaway @NPFBandits

Click on either team's logo above to view their 2011 summer season schedules.

Have a Sweet Day!

David

Our first Blog Contest!

As the candy man I learn something new everyday. For example a few weeks ago I learned that DeMets Candy Company has a trademark on a candy called Turtles. The candy caramel cluster has always been referred to generically as a turtle much like kleenex is for tissues.

Anyway a few weeks ago I received an certified letter from an attorney who work for DeMets, the letter informed me that we were in trademark violation.

Oops! I called him and let him know it was unintentional and that we were changing the name to Caramel Clusters. He was satisfied and all is good on the legal front.


But that brings me to our first Blog Contest.

Caramel Clusters are not the most exciting name though legal. We need a new name for our Caramel Clusters. So help us come up with a clever creative name for our Caramel Clusters we offer them in milk, semi sweet and on occasion by special order white chocolate. We also offer our caramel clusters in peanut, pecan, cashew and almonds.

The winning entry will receive one pound of Caramel Clusters (aka its new award winning name) a month for the next year.

The names you supply can not be copyrighted or trademarked by any other company. All entries should be submitted via email to lifeofthecandyman@gmail.com. By submitting an entry you are allowing Illinois Nut and Candy / www.RaisingTheCandyBar.com to use the name henceforth forward waiving all rights to the names submitted. Multiple entries per person are allowed. All decisions by the judging committee are final. If a new name is not found the judging committee has the right to extend the contest and or not pick a new name at that time. The contest is open only to legal residents of the United State that are over the age of 18. Employees and family member of employees are eligible to enter the contest. The contest deadline is July 1, 2011 at midnight. The winner of the contest will be notified by email that he/she has won.

Good luck to all of the entries.

Have a sweet day!