Meet Briana McKee - part 6

 Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and also help the Anderson's with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  Sixth in our series, is Briana McKee.

Briana (Bree) has been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for 4 years.  Bree works in just about every room in the shop, minus the Cooking Room.  Her main focus these days has been the Dipping Room, where Bree is the newest Dipper. 

The first thing Bree remembers doing while working at the shop "I learned how to put candy away and how to pack chocolates."  

Something Briana thinks will surprise customers about how our candy is made is "how everything is made by hand and how many different steps it takes to have such amazing candy!"

Bree prefers all things in dark chocolate!

"I have many fond memories while working here," Bree recalls, " but I'd have to say my favorite memory is when Leif was still with us.  His fun and happy personality would brighten up your day and how he would go out of his way to tell you a corky dad joke just to make you smile!"

Briana says her favorite holiday to work is Christmas "because it's constantly busy and fast moving."  Her least favorite time would be summer "because it's really slow." 

On her days off Bree enjoys gardening or  spending time with her husband and three children.  

Meet Nick Anderson - part 5

 Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and also help the Anderson's with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  

Fifth in our series, is Nick Anderson.

Nick as been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for over 7 years.  Nick holds the title of Head Cook, he works in the room we call "the Cooking Room" where the insides of the chocolates are made.  Nick originally started at the Candy Shop working in the Packing Room.  

The first thing Nick remembers doing when he first started at the shop was packing pieces 

of candy into boxes.  

Something Nick thinks will surprise customers about how our candy is made is "the amount of time and labor that goes into it.  Most batches take between 45 minutes to 2 hours just to cook, this doesn't include the time it takes to cut the batches, dip the pieces or package." 

Nick prefers milk chocolate when it's not paired with anything, 

otherwise it can depend on what is inside. 

"My nose doesn't work very well." Nick says.  "There is a batch where you need to roast the nuts and the easiest way to tell if it's done is by smell.  I was having trouble with the batch so I called on our intercom for help.  Leif Anderson (my childhood hero) cooked with me side by side.  He told me when it smelled right and I told him when it looked right.  In the moment, we worked as equals."  Nick recalled this as one of his fondest memories while working at the shop.  

Nick's favorite holiday to work "is definitely winter in the Candy Shop."  "That's the season where everyone has to come together and work their hardest.  It's also the season where everyone's colors truly shine."  Nick's least favorite season at the shop is spring, "mostly because of spring cleaning." 

On his days off, Nick enjoys the company of his family and friends.  "In either case (family or friends) we usually play games of all varieties."

Meet Kelly Heersche - part 4

 

 

Editor's Note:  Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and I also help the Andersons with the social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will highlight the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love! Fourth in our series is Kelly Heersche. 

Kelly has been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for 9 years.  Her main role is as the lead milk chocolate dipper in the dipping room however she sometimes helps in the molding room and has recently expanded her skill set by learning how to work in our packing room and helping customers in the storefront.  

Kelly remembers watching seasoned dippers when she first started working at the candy shop and

thinking "How will I ever get my candy to look like that?" 

Kelly's choice of chocolate is milk chocolate, always. 

Something Kelly thinks would surprise customers about how our candy is made is that it is hand dipped into a "bed of chocolate" on marble slabs built into an old dining table, 

handcrafted by the Anderson Family. 

Fond memories for Kelly consist of laughter in the dipping room and the connections she 

has made with guests in the store. 

Kelly's favorite holiday to work at the candy shop is Christmas.  "I love the season and how busy it is."  "I really don't have a least favorite season, I would have said summer, but this year is different because I am in the storefront for some of it and get to meet all of you and see how happy you are 

when you get your favorite candy." 

On her days off, Kelly enjoys spending time with family and visiting friends.  

She also enjoys sewing and painting. 

 

Meet Britta Malsch - part 3

Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and I also help the Andersons with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  Third in our series, is me, Britta Malsch. 

I have been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for over 9 years.  Currently I work part time and from home as the Purchasing Manager / Web Site and Social Media Moderator.  In the past 9 years I have also worked in the molding room as well as managed the packing room.  

The first thing I remember doing when I started working at the candy shop was stamping bar bags and putting away candy.  I also remember during one of my first shifts, packaging English Toffee into plastic tubs and putting the wrong stickers on the lids.  

Something I think will surprise customers about how our candy is made is how many hands each piece and bar pass before it's sold.  "It has to be cooked and made by one person, cut and rolled by another, dipped by one dipper, put away and packed possibly by two different people all before it's put onto shelves to be sold." 

I have come to appreciate dark chocolate over the rest, it wasn't always that way.  Working here and getting to experience delicious candy, I made the switch and haven't looked back.  

A fond memory I can recall is working Christmas Eve shifts, which are voluntary.  "We get so busy and would try to shut the door several times when we were suppose to close, but would end up letting in at least three more customers to finish or sometimes start their Christmas shopping."

My favorite holiday to work at the candy shop is Christmas, "the rush of the season is so fun and working on special orders we only usually get once a year makes the season that much more challenging, and I really enjoy it."  My least favorite holiday is Valentine's Day.  "It's the most forgotten and shortest, making it quite stressful to set up the store, make and sell heart boxes and take it all down to get ready for Easter."

On my days off I enjoy being home with my three young kids, shuttling them around to their activities.  As a family, we also enjoy attending and showing antique tractors, steam traction engines specifically, at different shows in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Meet Colleen Vineyard - part 2

 Editor's Note:  Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and I also help the Andersons with the social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will highlight the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  The second in our series is Colleen Vineyard. 

 

Colleen has been a part of Anderson's Candy Shop for more than 32 years and has worked with three generations of Andersons (Raynold & Violet, Leif, Tracy & Lars and now Katie, Zach, Ethan and Aaron)!  Colleen works in the dipping room. She is extremely accomplished at the art and science of hand dipping. She creates hundreds of chocolate pieces and candy bars each week. Her work is beautiful, uniform and fast!

The first thing Colleen remembers doing at the candy shop was watching other employees dip - moving puddles of chocolate around the marble, warming up and cooling down the chocolate so it would hold a mark on the pieces. 

"If you liked playing in the mud as a kid and making mud pies, you might like dipping candy," she jokes. "Smells better and the taste is so much better!" 

Something Colleen thinks would surprise customers about the candy shop is that after more than 100 years in business, all of the candy is still handmade. Not cooked or enrobed by machine, and that it's been made the same way since 1919.

She can remember before she worked for the candy shop, she also thought the candy was produced and consumed always all on the same day - more in the style of a donut shop or restaurant. 

"Being a customer once and young, I thought everything was made the same day it was sold and when they ran out they closed."

She thought this because many years ago, during Christmas season, the shop would close periodically unless you were a customer coming to pick up a previously placed order.

A few more fun tidbits about Colleen include:

- She prefers milk chocolate unless the center is peppermint, coconut or raspberry mallow, then she prefers dark chocolate!

- Some of Colleen's fondest memories include training others to dip.

"When you have a willing person that is eager to learn and not assuming they know or are doing it right when not," she explains "Everyone looks at us dipping and thinks it's easy because we make it look that way, when it isn't.  I take pride in my work and I want them to do well and succeed."

Colleen was taught by Anderson's Employee Hall of Fame member Anita Miller.

"I have had the honor of taking her place and I take that roll very serious.  If she saw me doing something wrong all she would say is "what are you doing", and I would totally stop and say "what?" and proceed telling her and she'd correct me.  I wanted to be the best and good at it and worked hard to be.  Met great people and are still friends with many that have moved on."

Colleen doesn't care for the stress of any of the shop's major busy holiday seasons but she loves doing what she does and always does her best.  Colleen does enjoy the last day of each holiday season, when the long hours end and she earns her pay!  

On her days off Colleen like gardening flowers and might try a few veggies next year.

She likes to swim at her sister's, relax on her patio or porch in the morning with coffee, bird watching, going out to lunch or dinner with friends.  She also enjoys crafty things like wood painting, flower arranging, wreaths, drawing, some reading, puzzles, sudoku, some gambling and being around good people.  She loves animals and spending time with her kids, their ladies and her husband. 

Meet Barb Popenhagen - part 1

Editor's Note: Introducing Meet Me Mondays! I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop. I also help the Anderson's with social media duties. As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers. I hope you enjoy this series which will highlight the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love! The first in our series is Barb Popenhagen.

Barb Popenhagen has been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for more than 37 years.

Barb started before the gift shop was added to the Richmond store and has been an integral part of growing the business through its second, third and fourth generations.

Barb has worn many hats at the shop including helping as a buyer of gifts to sell in Anderson's former Crystal Lake location and also for the gift store in Richmond.

Barb has served as a sales person, a store manager and a supply manager during her time at the shop. Although she has retired from full time hours, she still works seasonally, packaging hundreds upon hundreds of orders for pick-up and mailing during Christmas, Easter and Valentine's Day!

Barb is THE KEEPER OF STANDARDS (and we are grateful!) when it comes to customer service, quality control and fulfilling orders. 

The first thing Barb remembers doing for Anderson's was putting freshly made candy away and waiting on customers in the store the day after Valentine’s Day. Raynold Anderson, our shop's second generation leader was her teacher.

Here are a few other fun tidbits from Barb!

 - Something Barb thinks would surprise customers to know about the candy shop is how few people actually work behind the scenes to create all that candy! Also, she thinks it would surprise people to know that each piece of our candy is actually dipped "one at a time" and not "in a machine like on I Love Lucy or Youtube!"

- Barb's MILK Chocolate Pick =  pecans, date coconut, divinity, and her favorite - Snappers!

- Barb's DARK Chocolate Picks = coconut, buttercream and the seasonal mint Oreos.

- Barb's favorite holiday to work at the Shop is Christmas! “We always get it done with so many happy customers.”

- One of Barbs fondest memories is when a local veterinarian who couldn’t get some circus elephants to take their medicine came to Anderson's and requested the shop make some large chocolate peanut clusters to hide the medicine in!

Other memorable incidents includes a customer asking Barb if we “shorten pants?” She said “I’ll have to check.” - She went in the back and asked the dippers if they wanted to help this guy out - no takers! And a few others included hidden engagement rings in candy boxes and sending a box of candy to a funeral for Mom to have a “sweet journey” to heaven.

Barb now uses her time off to spend more time with her family and friends.

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.