Brown Sugar. Hard Centers. What's in a name?

EDITOR'S NOTE: When you run a small business, there is never down time. While Christmas and Easter keep us running simply to fill orders, the spring months are devoted to catching up with paperwork and marketing. Each spring, we at Anderson's Candy Shop take a step back and look at trends in what we are selling, and NOT selling, and try to correct. This year we noticed three major "duds" in sales. The following walks you through what we discovered and the changes we have made in response.

Names are important. 

Would you look something up on “Backrub”?

Would you watch a movie starring Norma Jeane Mortenson? Or a cartoon show about Mortimer Mouse?

Does a nice, cold “Brad's Drink” sound delicious?

How about using Google to search for a movie staring Marilyn Monroe or Mickey Mouse while drinking an ice cold Pepsi?

Sound better?

Surely each of these name changes had an impact on the popularity of each person or product.

At Anderson's we recognize that names carry a lot of weight and we like to think we understand a thing or two about naming our own products.

But sometimes, we know we've gotten it wrong.

Two years ago a customer pointed out an error in our ways when he insisted that werename the Filbert candy bar Hazelnut.

A few letters different and today the once slow-selling chocolate covered Filbert is enjoying a lot more love and understanding as the trendy Hazelnut.

We feel it is that time again.

Our storefront associates have pointed out to us that a few of our handmade chocolates need a new lease on life – and an updated name!

Don't be alarmed, we haven't changed a single recipe or ingredient. But, we did listen to our storefront associates suggestions, and the next time you're in our shop or browsing online, you will notice some new products (or at least new names)!

The first starlet to enjoy a name change this spring was our Meltaway Cream bar.

Sweet, rich and smooth this candy bar was constantly misunderstood.

Folks who loved peppermint would reach for Meltaway and then recoil when they realized what they were reaching for was not mint, but a brown sugar buttercream.

And who could blame them?

Meltaway Fudge is minty, and so are Frosted Meltaways … what were we thinking!?

With the help of a call-out to our Facebook friends and a brainstorming session in house, we settled on a more descriptive name.

So, on a rainy Friday in May, Meltaway Cream became Brown Sugar Buttercream.

It has been almost a month now and we don’t think Brown Sugar Buttercream will ever look back!

Instead of being passed over by those seeking mint, scores of chocolate lovers are now enjoying the velvety, brown sugar cream center.

It is funny to be on the serving side of the counter when one of our regulars exclaims, "Oh, Brown Sugar Buttercream! That sounds good. I don't remember seeing that before. I'll try one of those."

Little do they know it's been there all along.

In some ways, changing the name of a product is as easy as ordering new packaging.

But the transition also presents challenges.

We fret - will current fans of the given product be able to locate it under its new name?

Will fans fear that we have changed more than the name and - gulp - the ingredients, too?

These were some of our major concerns with the two other candy products that we have recently renamed – our Hard Centers assortment and our Hard & Soft Centers assortment.

Although these assortments include some of our most popular pieces of candy - Buttercreams, Caramels, Peanut Butter Crunch pieces for example - they are duds at the sales counter.

And again, who could blame the customer? What is a “Hard” center?

The word Hard is typically associated with rocks, stones, breaking teeth, and difficult personalities. Not delicious candy!

And for that matter, a “Soft” center could be… well, anything.

So, after more brainstorming, we arrived at the following longer, but hugely more descriptive, new names.

INTRODUCING! Crunchy, Nutty, Chewy. (Formerly Hard Centers)

If you are a fan of chocolate dipped crunchy centers like molasses and mint chips and peanut butter and raspberry crunch AND you love our chewy centers, including caramel,nougat and butterscotch AND you are a fan of our chocolate dipped nuts - you can now purchase a box of our Crunchy, Chewy, Nutty centers!

And, last but certainly not least, we introduce to you: Everything But Nuts.  (Formerly Hard & Soft Centers)

If you are a customer who loves everything we make, BUT can not have nuts then Everything But Nuts is for you!

We know it's not Pepsi or Google, but we're hoping these names changes really do give our beloved bar and boxes new leases on life.

Fooling Aunt Ester

EDITOR'S NOTE: We've added a few employees to our roster this summer and one of the things I've told each during training is, "get ready to hear some great stories!" Our customers are loyal, interesting and genuinely funny people who, more often than not, are great story-tellers. For this month's post I wanted to share an example. Jim Kellogg of Lake Barrington, IL recently stopped in our Barrington shop and related the following tale about how he tricked his dear Aunt Ester into becoming a fan of our chocolates. The following is written by Mr. Kellogg himself. I hope you enjoy his story as much as we did.

 



Jim Kellogg,
customer since about 1980

"My elderly Aunt Ester was very particular about what she purchased and where she purchased it from.

She would rather have a pair of socks from Marshall Fields than a mink coat from Sears.

Ester came over from England when she was 12 years old and worked as a cook/housekeeper for a family in Detroit until she retired to Winter Park, Florida.
 

 She loved chocolates but would only eat them if they were from Fannie May. 

When she visited us one year,  I drove up to Richmond and bought a box of chocolates from Anderson’s Candy Shop. Aunt Ester wouldn’t touch them.  She wouldn’t even try a single one.  

It irritated me.

So I waited until she had emptied her Fannie May box.  I put the Anderson’s Chocolates in the Fannie May box and gave it to her the next morning.

She ate every one of them over the next several days.

 

Aunt Ester

Then she asked me to take her to Fannie May to buy some more chocolate.

I dropped her at the door and parked the car.  As I walked in, she was loudly complaining to the woman behind the counter, “Where are the good chocolates?  Why don’t you have the good chocolates anymore?".

I had to confess to her that I had switched chocolates.

Afterward, as long as she lived, Ester would send me money to go to Richmond and buy 8 boxes of Anderson’s chocolates and ship them to her home in Florida so she could give her closest friends “the best chocolates” for Christmas. 

I never asked how many boxes actually got to her friends."

Thank you again, Jim, for sharing this great story. And as a reminder to our other friends and fans, we love to hear and share what you have to say, so shoot us an email with your story and pictures at andersonscandyshop@gmail.com!

How Filbert became Hazelnut

EDITORS NOTE: In this blog I aim to share what it is like to grow up in, and work at Anderson's Candy Shop through stories about our family, customers and our chocolates.

My two favorite aspects of my job are collaborating and goofing around with my sister, Susanne and being able to interact with our customers.
This blog... well, it showcases my two favorite things and lets you in on some recent drama at the shop surrounding a little-known nut. This post is based on a true story. There is a real customer named Michael Hedrick and he really did give us a $20 bill. We got a little creative from there. I hope you enjoy!
                                                                                                       

Meet Filbert.

He’s round (chubby, some say), with pale skin and brown freckles.  

He’s earnest and follows the rules (maybe a bit naïve).  He doesn't quite fit in, a bit of a square peg in a round hole – or in this case, a round peg in a square hole.  He’s nervous a lot.

Filbert also happens to be a nut that we at Anderson’s dip in chocolate and sell in candy bar form. And, for a long, long time, Filbert has been very unpopular.

He just doesn't fit in with the rest of the nuts.

Brazil is tall, handsome and foreign; Cashew deliciously curvy with a golden brown tan; Pecan has delicate, symmetrical folds and Almond is just everyone’s favorite.

With competition like that, who wouldn't be nervous?

But Filbert dreams of more. 

He dreams of achieving his inner potential.

Filbert dreams of transcending his small, freckled stature and showing the world what a robust, smooth flavor he has.

He may not taste like the other nuts, but that is his strength. He is unique and he dreams of one day standing up and boldly saying, “Add me to your chocolates! No longer will I apologize for my roundness!  CALL ME HAZELNUT!”

We Anderson’s have talked of Filbert’s potential, but we haven’t been able to bring it out – until now – until we met Michael Hedrick.

Michael Hedrick of Barrington

With one gesture, Michael changed the course of Filbert's destiny and crossed over from good customer, into the territory of customer of legend.

On a recent trip to our Richmond shop Michael met Filbert.

While Michael is typically more interested in our fruit selection – apricot and coconut are among his favorites – he inquired on that trip about Filbert.

As he gazed down through the glass of the candy bar case at our selection of chocolates, his eyes passed over the nut section and he asked one of our employees, Barb, a question that got straight to the heart of the matter:

“What is filbert?” he mused.

Barb, having known filbert a very long time, told Michael that Filbert was also sometimes known around the shop as Hazelnut.

Fascinated by the fact that such a dynamic little nut had been hiding in the bar case right in front of him for so long, Michael wondered why Filbert hadn't let the world know who he was inside.

“What would it take to let Filbert be Hazelnut?” Michael asked Barb.

“You stamp each bag with the candy bar’s name – is all it would take to make the change buying a new stamp?”

Skeptically, Barb replied, “Yes.  But I’m not sure Filbert will ever change.”

About a month passed and unable to stay away, Michael found his way into our Barrington shop and visited Filbert.

Michael felt compelled to give Filbert the push he needed to realize his true potential. Micahel knew that Filbert had everything it takes to be a star, what he needed was an image makeover and someone to fund it.

After checking out with his bag full of chocolates, Michael approached Katie about Filbert's situation and offered to fund Filbert's metamorphosis.

Michael handed Katie a fresh, crisp twenty dollar bill and said those words that Filbert had so longed to hear, “Buy a Hazelnut stamp.”

It was a long road, but clad in his new label the Hazelnut that was there all along finally came out. 

He isn't nervous around his peers anymore.

He’s proud to be the round little nut with the big, smooth flavor.

They say the clothes make the man, and in this case, the stamp made the nut.
http://www.andersonscandyshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=cPath=53&products_id=112

Christmas Cookie Recipes!

EDITORS NOTE: One of the wonderful things about being at the candy shop this time of year is Christmas cookies. Our employees are quite the bakers and bring in plenty of goodies to share, but so do our customers. Our favorites include this recipe which uses our own wrapped caramels. 
Do you have a recipe that uses Anderson's Candy? If so, email pictures and directions to AndersonsCandyShop@gmail.com and we'll post for everyone to enjoy.

Pecan Carmel Surprises

Ingredients
1 cup ground pecans
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 & 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
12 Anderson’s wrapped caramels (unwrapped of course)

confectioners sugar

Prep work - Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Directions
Mix 1 tablespoon sugar with ground pecans.

Cream butter, remaining sugar and vanilla. Then gradually add flour and pecan/sugar mixture. When finished dough should be stiff enough to mold.

Cut Anderson's caramels in halves so that you have 24 caramel pieces 

Roll one tablespoon of dough into a ball and press one of the pieces of Anderson's wrapped caramel into the center, then roll to enclose the caramel. Repeat until all of the dough and caramel pieces are used up.

Place balls onto the cookie sheet about two inches apart.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for about 15 minutes.

Dust with confectioners sugar and remove from sheet to finish cooling.

MAKES 24 COOKIES :)

FAQs & good stuff to know about the new Barrington location

EDITOR'S NOTE: We finally opened the shop in Barrington! Saturday, November 17 was our Grand Opening and it was wonderful to see so many new and familiar faces at the event! As promised, the following is a list of information you should know about our new second location and some FAQs. If there is anything we missed, please let us know in the comments section at the bottom of the page or at AndersonsCandyShop@gmail.com 
 

Q: Where is this new store?

 A: We are located at 218 W. Main St., Barrington. That is four houses west of the Jewel/Osco in a yellow house (pictured left). Parking is in the rear.


Q: We had trouble finding you, did you know your signage is not good?

A: Yes, we know. We are sorry. We are working with the village to get better and more permanent signage approved soon.

Until then if you are having trouble please call us and we'll help get you here (224-655-2060)

Q: What are your hours in Barrington?

A:  Mon-Wed: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
      Thurs-Fri: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
      Saturday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
      Sunday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Q: Do you carry all of your candy bars in the new shop?

A: Yes, we carry our full assortment of candy bars in milk and dark chocolate. However, we have much less space for storage at this location so if you are one of our customers who likes to buy 30 of a single type of candy bar at once, for example, 35 milk chocolate Nougat (you know who you are ) we recommend calling ahead and making sure that we have enough stock to fill your order.

Q: What are the differences between what you carry in Richmond and in Barrington?

A: In Barrington we will not have the ability to make large specially packed boxed assortments for you. This is due to storage space constraints. So, for example, if you are one of our customers who likes very specific candies, like only dark chocolate Lemon Creams, you would need to call a few days ahead to have them packed up in Richmond and sent to Barrington for you to pick up. There will be no extra charge for this.
 
Another big difference is the way the candy is presented in Barrington. Much of the chocolate is self-serve for the first time!

You can see below is a picture of our "candy bar wall" (from back before we opened) and a few close-ups of your favorite wax paper bags :)

Q: Who will staff the Barrington shop?

A: In the beginning it will be mostly Anderson's including fourth-generation candymakers Katie and Susanne along with close family friend and longtime employee Rachelle Johnston. We will hire locally however within the coming months. If you are interested in part time work, please email Katie at AndersonsCandyShop@gmail.com

Q: Will you have your gourmet sauces and dips?

A: For the most part, our dips and sauces selection will mirror Richmond.

Q: Will you have gifts, candles and jewelry like in Richmond?
 
A: For the most part, no. This shop is much smaller so we will focus on chocolate and also a few items which support the Barrington Area Historical Society -- our partners in this new endeavor.

Q: Can I place mail orders, Christmas orders, etc. in Barrington?

A: Yes you can. We will be happy to assist you just the same as if you were in Richmond or calling from your home.

Did your question get missed? Please contact us anytime toll free at 1-888-214-7614. For Richmond-centered questions call 815-678-6000

For Barrington dial 224-655-2060 

or simply email andersonscandyshop@gmail.com

 

Because what we do matters

EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog is very personal. It attempts to explain why my sister, Susanne, and I have created a special charity assortment of chocolates debuting this fall – the Anderson’s Candy Shop Give Back Box. For every one of these special assortments sold we will donate 25% of the proceeds to the Family Health Partnership Clinic of Woodstock, IL. Please read on for more information or visit www.andersonscandyshop.com

I wish I had known about the Family Health Partnership Clinic in 2006. If I had, maybe things would be different.

Six years ago this November, I found out that my mother, Ruth, had breast cancer.

I was 20 years old and home on Thanksgiving Break from Eastern Illinois University. I had come home early intent on surprising everyone. A happy surprise.

Upon sneaking into the house at about 3 a.m., I surprised mom first. She was on her way back to bed from a trip to the bathroom.

What happened next still seems like a dream to me -- unreal.

Even in the dark I could see that she was trying to hide something. And I was horrified when I realized that she was trying to block me from seeing that one of her breasts was triple it’s normal size.

There was a tumor.

She had hidden it well under her everyday clothes but the thin fabric of the nightgowns mom loved to wear could not hide the mass on her chest.

Shock and disbelief hit me first. Then horror, sadness, panic and anger.

Why had she not seen a doctor? How could she have let a likely cancerous growth get so large?

Then there was fear and tears. She might die.

My mother did not have health insurance or a job at that time. She let her condition escalate because she was afraid that if she was diagnosed with cancer before she had health insurance, she would not be able to afford treatment.

My sister, living at home at the time, was 18 years old and struggling to learn what she could to help our mom, but we were limited by our youth and naivety to the intricacies of health care policy and law.

Soon after I discovered mom's tumor, my Dad and his second wife, Tracy, helped my mom get approved for insurance through the State of Illinois. And, eventually, mom underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation.

And she beat the cancer. For a while.

Three years later however, on a weekend trip home from my first job out of college, I had to convince mom once again to go to the hospital for treatment.

She had let her state insurance policy lapse because she could not afford to keep up with the payments. She also never got plugged in to a health care facility that helped her stay diligent with followup treatments.

In addition, she fell into a deep depression as one of the side effects of the radiation treatments.

The result -- the cancer was back and it was too late this time.

We learned shortly after mom was admitted to Centegra Hospital - McHenry, that the cancer had spread to her lymphatic system and metastasized her liver.

Five days later she was gone.

Ever since, Susanne and I, although surrounded by many loving and supportive people, have had to struggle with the pain and loss of someone whom we loved so much.

We have also wrestled since then with the thought that something as simple as knowing where clinics existed that helped the uninsured might have altered things; that having better knowledge of how the system works and what resources were available may have changed mom’s decisions and the outcome.

Two years after mom’s death and three years into my career as a journalist at daily newspapers, I thought I had gotten over most of those feelings of grief and regret.

I had written articles about all-consuming house fires, car accidents and other tragedies. But when I stumbled upon an assignment to write a piece about a volunteer at the Family Health Partnership Clinic of Woodstock, Illinois, I found myself suddenly very affected.

I learned about this place -- the clinic -- which provided consultations, medications and treatment to hundreds of McHenry County's uninsured. And I learned about the tireless volunteers there who care for the seemingly unending line of those who come seeking help.

After I interviewed my source,(Mary Lou was her name), I cried.

I cried because I was moved by her generous spirit. I shed tears for the hundreds of others who I imagined might be scared like my mother was. And I cried because I was so happy there were people there to help.

In her time on this earth, my mother taught my sister and I that what you do in this life matters.

And now as we now approach our third holiday season without her, Susanne and I find ourselves in a unique position to do something that we think would make her proud.

As October begins, we are closing in on our first year as full-time employees at the Candy Shop and now have control over several managerial aspects of the business. With that new freedom and power we have decided to create Anderson's first-ever charity-candy box.

Susanne and I have invented the Anderson's Candy Shop Give Back Box, a special chocolate assortment that we are going to sell this winter, in order to raise money for the Family Health Partnership Clinic.

By January, we hope to have raised some money to support the clinic and also hope to have raised awareness in the community to the clinic's cause. We want to help ensure that other families are aware of at least one local option for health care for the uninsured.

For more information about this project you can visit our website at www.andersonscandyshop.com.

Thank you for reading and have a happy and health rest of 2012.