Vol. 92, No. 8 MANUFACTURING CONFECTIONER...Reid Candy & Nut Shop — In 1971 Tom and Kathy Drew-Smith took over ownership of Reid Candy which had been primarily a nut shop since the

GLOBAL SOURCE FOR CHOCOLATE, CONFECTIONERY AND BISCUIT INFORMATION

MANUFACTURING CONFECTIONER

AUGUST 2012Vol. 92, No. 8

SWEETS & SNACKS NEW PRODUCTS GERMAN CONFECTIONERY MARKET

HEIRLOOM CACAO PRESERVATION SOCIAL AUDIT

The Manufacturing Confectioner • August 2012 37

Tuesday, September 18Arrival Day and Welcome Reception

Optional Tour Day — Arrive early and enjoy area activitieswith family. See options at retailconfectioners.org/regionals.

Meals on one’s own

3:00 pm – 5:00 pmRegistration Desk Open

AfternoonCommittee Meetings

2:00 pm – 3:00 pmTour Bus Captain Orientation Meeting

3:00 pmExecutive Board Meeting

5:00 pmWelcome Reception and Suppliers’ Tell-n-Sell with Tour

Orientation

9:00 pmNext Generation Event for RCI members in their twenties

and thirties for a fun mixer at SPiN Toronto. (rsvp on regis-tration form)

Overnight at the Hyatt Regency Toronto Downtown, 370King Street West

No hotel reservation needed! All attendee guest rooms areincluded in the full registration package.

Wednesday, September 19Tour Day of Toronto

7:00 am – 8:00 amBreakfast

8:00 amBoard Buses at the hotel for tours

SOMA Chocolatemaker is a bean-to-bar artisan choco-latemaker, making chocolate in small batches directly fromthe cacao bean. We will see the workings of this micro-chocolate factory as well as their production of truffles, tra-ditional Italian cookies and drinking chocolate.

Visit CN Tower in Toronto, the tallest tower in the worldand Toronto’s most popular tourist attraction.

Lunch provided on tour

SOMA Chocolatemaker Roasting Facility —Attendeeswill enjoy a tour of this 1800 sq ft warehouse factory set-ting where SOMA Chocolatemaker roasts their cocoabeans for production using a roaster, winnower and otherequipment.4:00 pmEducation Session—Chocolate Connoisseur Peter Higgins, president of R. C.Purdy Chocolates, Ltd., will share the highlights of theirchocolate connoisseur program for their staff. Within thefirst three months at the company, the staff must master astandard base of knowledge about chocolate. By usingvideos, written information and classroom-style instruc-tion, this formal learning program has developed knowl-edgeable staff at each of the Purdy’s stores.

Dinner on one’s own

Free time in downtown Toronto

5:00 pm

2013 – 2014 Board of Directors’ Meeting with workingdinner

Overnight at the Hyatt Regency Toronto Downtown, 370King Street West

No hotel reservation needed. All attendee guest rooms areincluded in the full registration package.

RCI Canadian Chocolate Tour Schedule as of 7/13/12

Retail Confectioners International will host its fall regional event in and near Toronto,Ontario, Canada, September 18 –21. www.retailconfectioners.org

Event Hosts: Rhéo Thompson Candies Ltd. (Marc Johnstone and Kristene Steed)

➤

RCI Canadian Chocolate Tour

38 August 2012 • The Manufacturing Confectioner

Thursday, September 20Tour Day of Toronto Area

All attendees to bring luggage to the bus before breakfast7:00 am – 7:45 amBreakfast 8:00 amBoard Buses at the hotel for tours

Walker’s Chocolates Burlington Factory Outlet (Produc-tion Facility and Retail Store) — Harry Walker and his wife,Anne, opened their own chocolate business in 1983 inBurlington, Ontario. Since then, the business has growninto a large factory space with its own retail outlet alongwith a larger flagship store in Burlington and a store inHamilton. RCI will tour the Walker’s Chocolates productionfacility as well as their retail shop in Burlington.

R.C. Purdy’s Chocolates, Ltd., Oakville Place Mall —Richard Carmon Purdy opened his first chocolate shop in1907 on Robson Street in Vancouver. The Flavelle familyhas run Purdy’s Chocolates since 1963.

Today, Purdy’s Chocolates, a Canadian-owned andfamily-operated business, is the largest chocolate re-tailer in western Canada and the second largest inCanada, with 57 stores in British Columbia, Alberta andOntario. We will tour their 1,000 sq ft retail store. Al-though there is no manufacturing onsite, there will be aformal product-tasting time.

Lunch provided on tour

Reid Candy & Nut Shop — In 1971 Tom and KathyDrew-Smith took over ownership of Reid Candy whichhad been primarily a nut shop since the 1940s. Over theyears they expanded their product line and started pro-ducing a range of chocolates and candies in the late ’70s.

3:00 pmArrive at Arden Park Hotel, Stratford

Optional tour experiences — Attendees may sign up foroptional experiences at time of registration. Pricing detailswill follow on the optional tour day form.

4:30 pmScotch and Chocolate Tasting

4:30 pmTea and Chocolate Tasting

5:30 pmDinner on one’s own7:15 pmLeave for optional evening performance of 42nd Street at

the Festival Theatre.

Overnight at the Arden Park Hotel, 552 Ontario Street,Stratford, Ontario.

No hotel reservation needed. All attendee guest rooms areincluded in the full registration package.

Friday, September 21Tour Day of Stratford

All attendees to bring luggage to the bus before breakfast7:00 am – 7:45 amBreakfast 8:00 amBoard Buses at the hotel for tours

Costume Warehouse —The warehouse is one of thelargest repositories of costumes in the world. Not onlydoes it supply the costumes and props for the annualStratford Shakespeare Festival, but it also rents to theaterand movie companies across North America. There aremore than 50,000 costumes in the warehouse and severalracks of costumes that visitors can try on.

Rhéo Thompson Candies —The story of Rhéo ThompsonCandies, Ltd., began in 1969 when Rhéo Thompson ap-prenticed in the production of candy at Olin Brown Can-dies, Stratford. Later, Rhéo began his own candymakingfacility. Rhéo and Sally Thompson worked hard over theyears to brand their confection while concentrating on thecompany adage We make but one thing, and we do thatwell, candy.

Kristene Steed and Marc Johnstone, the current ownersof Rhéo Thompson Candies Limited, make over 150 differ-ent confections.

Lunch provided on the tour3:30 pmArrive at the Toronto International Airport for drop-offs;remaining guests will return to Hyatt Regency TorontoDowntown.Overnight accommodations for Friday night, September 21, are not includedin the tour package and need to be made by individuals based on need. Con-tact the host hotel, the Hyatt Regency Toronto Downtown, 370 King StreetWest, at (888) 421 1442 and ask for the RCI group room rate.

Dinner on own if you are extending your stay.

• ❖ •Check and pack your passport! Has your passport expired or do you needa new one? U.S. citizens start at usa.gov/NXOIG to learn about the pass-port process.

International flights require 2 to 3 hours to go through Canadianand U.S. customs offices. Do not schedule your flight home be-fore 5:30 p.m. on Friday, September 21, or you may miss it.

RCI’s Next Convention and Industry ExpoJune 24 –28, 2013 • Cincinnati, Ohio

OR

The Retail Confectionery International conven-tion in California toured eight retail chocolate

shops, two chocolate supplier factories and a whole-sale confectionery manufacturer. In addition, educa-tional sessions, peer sharing and the annual industryexposition filled the week.

RCI events always include networking opportuni-ties, whether it be at the educational forums, recep-tions or informal chatting between activities.

EDUCATION

Beginning with Wine’s Secret Crush on Chocolateby Rose Potts, Blommer Chocolate, the sessionsaddressed many trends for those in the retail confec-tionery business. Potts spoke about the parallelsfound between wine and chocolate — in their con-sumption patterns, territory notes and sensorydescriptors. Since the convention was held near winecountry in California, Potts discussed cross-promo-tional marketing and pairings of the two products.Practical HACCP for Food Processors by Heena

Patel, Scientific Certification Systems, reviewed thenecessity for a specific hazard analysis critical controlpoint (HACCP) plan and the importance of goodmanufacturing practices. A good plan helps ensurethe safety of the food during manufacture.

Juan Carlos Arroyave, CasaLuker, spoke on CacaoFino de Aroma: A Model for Quality and Sustain-ability, first presenting the different types of cocoa(Amazon/forastero, criollo, trinitario). Cacao fino dearoma is an ICCO (International Cocoa Organiza-tion) classification. Its flavor can be described asfruity and flowery with nutty malt notes. Between6 and 7 percent of the cocoa produced in the world iscacao fino de aroma. Most fino de aroma is grown inColombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru.

Dan Dermer, Sweet Packaging, discussed the neces-sity of topnotch customer service for the wholesalemarket in his talk Packaging and Marketing for theWholesale Segment. An attitude of what’s best for thecustomer will determine the packaging and distribu-tion of the confections. Dermer then pointed out the

different types of boxing for open assortments, displaycounters, corporate sales and external retail sales. As hereviewed the target customers for each type of market,he presented examples of the packaging and why thosechoices apply.What Does Natural Mean to You? featured

chocolate experts Joe Sofia, Cargill, and DennisWitzel, retired, who both reviewed common indus-try standards and controversial ingredients, as well asthe right questions to ask when talking with cus-tomers. When customers ask for a natural chocolateor confection, there is no clear definition of thisterm. The FDA viewpoint, the USDA viewpointand the customer viewpoint can all be very different.It may be easier to ask customers what they don’twant in your product. Consumers are becomingmuch more aware of ingredients in the food supply.Manufacturers, however, have quite a challenge touse ingredients that can be described as natural whileachieving the same consistent taste and quality as theformer formula.

TOURS

Tour hosts supplied warm welcomes and goodiesduring the behind-the-scene views of their busi-nesses. RCI participants could observe each com-pany’s attention to food safety, quality and, in thecase of retail shops particularly, attractive marketing.


RCI Annual Convention 2012

Charles Flavelle of R.C. Purdy Chocolate shared a moment looking at pictures with Herm Rowland of Jelly Belly in Rowland’s office

Jelly Belly Candy Co.A feeling of excitement and enthusiasm permeated thetour of Jelly Belly even though the plant was in shut-down mode. Public tours were continuing and the giftshop was active. While Jelly Belly was in the midst ofits annual, regularly scheduled two-week shutdownfor maintenance, they kept a robotic packaging lineoperating for the RCI tour. The tour through the facil-ity featured key employees explaining each part of theconfectionery manufacturing, packaging and distribu-tion process. In addition, there were videos through-out the plant to show processing.

Throughout the factory, bar coding is used tomonitor all products, electronically scanning a 4×6“license plate” of info relating to each box. First-in,first-out is the policy of their warehouse.

A special highlight was visiting the creative serv-ices center, where a team of Jelly Belly workers devel-ops all the graphics for packages, labels, posters,point-of-sale displays and boxes.

Additionally, participants on the RCI tour werewelcomed into the “chairman of the bean” HermanRowland’s office. He and his daughter, executive vicechairman Lisa Rowland Brasher, talked about howimportant family is, extending that attitude toencompass all employees. They also discussed thechallenges of sugar prices and taxes while keepingtheir business in the United States.

Blommer Chocolate Co.As preparations were made to tour this chocolatefacility, each attendee gained a heightened aware-ness of the steps necessary to assure the safety of

the food being manufactured. Hairnets, labcoats,hand sanitizer and antibacterial spray on shoeswere provided for each visitor before touring theplant. There were explanations from each depart-ment about the process from the cacao bean tolarge bars, liquid chocolate or chips.

Ghirardelli Factory Outlet StoreGhirardelli’s factory outlet store demonstrated theidea of buying chocolates as close to original produc-tion as possible. This skips distribution hassles andhandling delays for manufacturers and could offerproducts at lower prices for consumers.

This particular discount store featured Ghirardelliproducts such as baking chocolate, chocolate by thecase, fudge and caramel sauces, and holiday overstocks.

Guittard Chocolate Co.A red carpet welcomed the RCI busload on its arrivalat Guittard. Gary Guittard, president and CEO of thefamily business, explained the importance of qualityat Guittard and how every employee pays constantattention to the flavor.

There aredifferingprocesses forfermentingbeansthroughoutthe world —some culturesuse baskets,some useboxes, andsome pilecocoa beans on the ground. This means that thesame type of beans might produce different flavorsdepending on what happens before the shipmentgets to Guittard. Appropriate blending assures con-sistent quality.

Ken Givich, Guittard’s director of microbiology,further explained what occurs in the Guittard labsduring the chocolate production process, includingseveral quality assurance tests.

Employees throughout the factory explained theprocess and reinforced the notion that making choco-


RCI annual convention 2012

Frina Nemchenok from Guittard shared about the extensive quality tests that occur throughout

the process

Rose Potts (green shirt, facing camera) spoke about the many steps in the process of making chocolate prior to RCI’s tour of

Blommer Chocolate

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late is a mechanized, mostly automated process, but ahuman being is needed throughout for making adjust-ments — producing chocolate truly is an art.

Listening to the 10 employees who shared abouttheir departments, it was obvious that there is pas-sion in their tasks. Whether it was Joe, Hector, Frinaor Thalia, they all spoke directly about their commit-ment to quality and their part in producing it. Onewas quoted as saying, “We put our heart and soulinto the chocolate!”

Chocolate Tasting TourSan Francisco,like many cities,offers a gourmetwalking tour, andthe RCI walk wasfocused solely onchocolate shopsfor the candy-making visitors.Although thetour was con-sumer-focused,the RCI partici-pants observedunusual flavors,sampling sugges-

tions and various presentation techniques. At eachstop the guide would explain what was unique aboutthat shop and why a particular sample was offered.

Stops on the Gourmet Chocolate Walking Tourwere at Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Rec-chiuti Confections, Neo Cocoa, Fog City News,Leonidas, Teuscher and Cocoa Bella.

CANDY CLINIC

Presentations voted by peers as best in each category arenoted first.

Best New PieceJoy Lyn’s Candies (Paradise, CA) developed theBlack Gold truffle in honor of the 75th anniversaryof the Golden Gate bridge with a nod to the largestgold nugget (54 lbs) found in 1859 near their

hometown of Para-dise. This chocolatefeatures a bit ofgolden cocoa butteron the mould andthe application ofgold luster dustafter demoulding.

Coblentz ChocolateCo. (Walnut Creek, OH)offers three chocolate-covered Oreos pack-aged together. Each isdipped in either milk,white or dark choco-late, then drizzled withcontrasting chocolateor decorated withsprinkles.

Leonidas “fresh Belgian chocolate”shop in San Francisco

Black Gold truffles from Joy Lyn’s Candies

Chocolate-covered Oreos from Coblentz



family surprised him with a cele-bration of his 40 years in business.The Mayor of Burnaby cut the rib-bon opening the new chocolateriver in their store and issued aProclamation of Oct. 22 as Char-lie’s Chocolate Day. Events and theanniversary were noted in manylocal papers.

R.C. Purdy Chocolates helped to raise funds for children with heart problems.

R.C. Purdy Chocolates (Vancou-ver, BC) partnered with a globalTV program called HelpingHearts to raise charity funds forkids with heart problems. At$8.95 per package, the box of spe-cially marked Purdy’s delightswould raise $2 for the charity.More than $9,000 was raised forcharity in addition to the good-will in the community.

Whetstone Chocolates (St.Augustine, FL) shared that groupphotos taken after each of theirchocolate-tasting tours can bemerged seamlessly into socialmedia sites such as Facebookthrough the use of an iPad andEye-Fi memory cards with built-in Wifi. The app they use allowsfurther promotion after the con-sumer leaves the tour. In addition,the company can film the produc-tion process in the factory on aniPad and link it with social media.

Packaging

Colorful new Walker’s Chocolates packaging on the left compared with older on the right.

Walker’s Chocolates (Burling-ton, ON) after 29 years using thesame packaging, hired a designerfor new packaging and they’veheard a great response to thefinal product.

Oval containers help sell Asher’s Chocolates items

Asher’s Chocolates (Souderton,PA) challenges confectioners tothink outside the box. Packagingtheir products in ice cream tub-shaped containers, the colors helpto distinguish the items inside.

Golden Turtle occasion boxes

Golden Turtle Chocolate Factory(Lebanon, OH) offers two sizes ofspecial custom boxes with differ-

ent designs, including Thank You,Happy Birthday and Get Well.

First-timers

Snyd Pops from Bruce’s Candy Kitchen

Bruce’s Candy Kitchen (CannonBeach, OR) offers many variationsof the Snyd Pop, named for afriend of the family business.These caramel-dipped Rice Krispietreats on a stick are dipped inchocolate. Depending on the sea-son and the decorations or shapes,Valen-Snyd; Luck-O-the-Snyd;Snyd & Stripes; Frank N Snyd;Turk N Snyd and Jolly Ol’ St. Snydextend the possibilities of this sim-ple confection on a stick.

AWARDS BANQUET

At a celebratory evening banquet,tour hosts, sponsors, conventionhosts and Candy Clinic winnerswere recognized. In addition, theannual Presidents Award fromoutgoing RCI president TerryHicklin of Candy House GourmetChocolates was given to threeimmediate past presidents fortheir help and comradery over thepast several years of change in theorganization — David Jones(Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen),Mike Koch (Morley Candy Mak-ers/Sanders Candy) and Fran Cox(Dorothy Cox’s Candies). ThenKelly Brinkmann, RCI’s executivedirector, presented Hicklin with a

Merchandising and Promotionscategory (continued)



plaque recognizing that there is truly “somethingabout Terry” with his ingenious marketing ideas,menu approach to education and intense involve-ment in the community. The organization has beenfortunate to have had his leadership, she said.

Outgoing board members were acknowledged atthis gathering: John Zima (Merckens/ADM Cocoa),Jerry Swain ( Jer’s Handmade Chocolates), SusanPalkon (Reily’s Candy) and Jeff Birnn (Birnn Choco-lates of Vermont).

Incoming president Jason Coblentz (CoblentzChocolate Company) also shared about the excite-ment of seeing the association becoming better andbetter with the recent completion of a strategic planand increased communication options in place. Hehighlighted the option of participating in online dis-cussion emailing list (three categories — marketing,business owners or chocolate production) to askquestions of peers in the industry. Coblentz alsoencouraged RCI members to share their knowledgeand experience.

RCI Reconnect in Hawaii — OahuApproximately 50 RCI members continued the con-vention experience with a trip to Hawaii immediatelyfollowing the San Francisco event. Several confec-tionery-related tours were enhanced by visits to placesthat few tourists would find.

Menehune MacFounded in 1939, Menehune Mac is now operated bysiblings Neal Arakaki and Susan Morita. Systems are inplace in the facility to incorporate 11 hand-dippers,Hawaiian-grown macadamia nuts and a box-wrappingmachine. Samples are on offer throughout their retailspace, in addition to other products from Hawaii.

Hawaiian King CandiesHawaiian King Candies was founded in 1978 byDuty Free Shoppers to provide Hawaiian-grownmacadamia nut-based chocolates and cookies toretail operations throughout the Pacific basin. In2010 Bric-A-Brac became the new owner of Hawai-ian King Candies. The company’s products are avail-able at DFS shops located in Pacific-region airportssuch as Hawaii, Guam, Singapore, Sai Pai and Mum-

bai. Their clientele are willingto pay for quality confec-tions. Because the ownershares profits with employeesthere are many motivated,longtime workers at Hawai-ian King. One just recentlyretired at the age of 84. Thefactory includes a panningroom and a moulding line.

Waialua Cacao Orchardand Sugar MillA highlight of the event for chocolatiers was the activecacao plantation. Waialua Estates Hawaiian Cacaobegan as an experimental crop, part of Dole food com-pany’s diversified agriculture program in 1996. The 18acres on the North Shore of Oahu are home to a smallbut thriving orchard. The field had been neglected for

Bornhofft Award

Retail Confectioners Interna-tional (RCI) presented the2012 Henry J. BornhofftMemorial Award to DennisWitzel at the convention.

Witzel has been in thechocolate business for morethan 40 years. He has workedfor the Nestlé ChocolateDivision, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate and Lin-nea’s Cake & Candy Supplies. He is a retiredmember of RCI and has been associated with theWestern Candy Conference, the West Coastchapter of AACT and has attended the FrenchPastry School. He has also served on the instruc-tion team for RCI’s Chocolate Boot Camp andserved a term on the RCI Board of Directors.

Each year, the RCI board selects a suppliermember of the confectionery industry to receivethe Henry J. Bornhofft Memorial Award at theannual convention in June. The recipient is a per-son who has made numerous contributions to theconfectionery industry.

Dennis Witzel at a cacaoorchard during RCI’sReconnect in Hawaii.

Patrick Haddad hosted theRCI Reconnect group at

Hawaiian King Candies. Hisson owns the company.

several years but in 2005 itsrestoration began and sam-ples from the first harvestwere sent to GuittardChocolate Company forassessment. This partner-ship has combined theknowledge of a long-stand-ing chocolate supplier withthe fresh approach of a rela-tively new grower.

Oahu is on the northern edge of cacao’s typicalgrowing area, so there are some challenges. The sun isintense in Hawaii but not in the same way as on theequator. Single-origin chocolate from Hawaii isexpensive but there is high demand for it. Gary Guit-tard has urgently advised Waialua Estates to “Plantmore trees.”

The RCI visitors were able to tour the formersugar mill area where now cacao is brought to beprocessed: cut open, fermented and dried.

Melanie Boudar of Sweet Paradise Chocolatier

Melanie Boudar is a founding member of the FineChocolate Industry Association. She prepared andshared samples of her chocolate confections in coop-eration with Guittard and Waialua Cacao Orchard.Boudar considers Hawaii blessed with this specialtyproduct (cacao) that is locally grown and easily mar-keted. Her former career was in gems and jewelry sowhen she became a chocolatier she added bling to herproducts, sometimes with transfer sheets, sometimeswith fingerpainting colored cocoa butter and some-times with add-ons such as sea salt. n



Derek Lanter showing some ofthe different types of cacaopods at Waialua Estates.

Taking turns, half of the RCI Reconnect group at WaialuaEstates while the other half sampled Boudar’s chocolates.

The Art of the Chocolatierby Ewald NotterThis book provides informa-tion on the basics of choco-late and ingredients used; alist and explanation ofessential equipment need-ed; a thorough description

of basic techniques; recipes and instructionsfor producing chocolate pieces, from simpleganache to chocolate flowers and assem-bling three-dimensional figures. Amazingphotos for almost every recipe.407 pages $65/copy

Chocolates & ConfectionsBy Peter P. GrewelingFundamental information for theconfectioner includes ingredientfunction and use, chocolate pro-cessing, and artisan productiontechniques.388 pgs. US$65

Fine Chocolates, Great ExperienceBy Jean-Pierre Wybauw More than 100 original chocolaterecipes are described in detailand illustrated with superb pho-tographs.228 pgs. US$105

Fine Chocolates 2, Great GanacheExperience

By Jean-Pierre Wybauw A myriad of applications, tech-niques, tips and recipes to creative-ly 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 fre-quently used raw materials andexplains how they impact thequality and shelf life of pralines.223 pgs. US$105

Chocolate DecorationsBy Jean-Pierre Wybauw More than 100 original chocolatedecoration techniques, explainedwith clear action images.200 pgs. US$105

Selected Confectionery Books

MC Publishing Companywww.gomc.com/books.html • 711 W Water St, Princeton, WI 54968 USA

Tel: +1 (920) 295 6969 • Fax: +1 (920) 295 6843

Documents

Vol. 92, No. 8 MANUFACTURING CONFECTIONER...Reid Candy & Nut Shop — In 1971 Tom and Kathy Drew-Smith took over ownership of Reid Candy which had been primarily a nut shop since the