Candy

You might have to work here to understand why I compared our candy company to a circus, but let’s just say, it gets very busy with lots going on in all corners of our operation and we often say  “ It’s a Circus in here lol.
 Much like all the acts that go on during a busy Circus, our company operates about the same way. We have our own ticket takers, clowns, acrobats, animal trainers, jugglers, concession workers and even a few strongmen.

Our ticket takers are the sweet people that answer our phones and take your order and help you find what you need. Our clowns, well… let’s just say they keep all of us laughing through out the day with their various tricks they do. Our acrobats pretty much walk a tight rope and try to find space in our warehouses to store all our candy we get in from the manufactures. The jugglers aren’t throwing balls up in the air, but they are running from desk to desk trying to catch the overflow when someone’s busy. The strongmen are just that, they unload truck after truck by hand of full cases of bubble gum, snack foods, candy bars. Next is our animal trainers, we have some employees that donate a lot of their time to Animal Rescue groups. Last but not the least our candy concession workers. Yes, we have the cotton candy, peanuts, cracker jacks, popcorn and even snow cone stuff to sell that you also find and enjoy at the circus.
 Our teams of concession workers pick and pack up these treats for everyone to enjoy!

As I was writing this blog today, something else came to mind. Our Circus that comes to town is sponsored and hosted by our Jaffa Shrine Organization. A lot of the proceeds they make from their Circus get donated to various children’s organizations to help them out. At Blair Candy, we also use some of the profits we make from our very own Circus Seasons and donate to many organizations and children’s events.

We are a big sponsor of area youth sports teams and non profit organizations. From Baseball leagues, Basketball teams to Relay for Life and our local soup kitchen.
 All of our sweet treats we sell also help many in need, just like our local Circus Sponsor.

If you want to enjoy a little old fashion nostalgic fun, visit the circus, grab some cotton candy, watch the Elephants dance and the clowns be silly or you can visit our online candy store, or our outlet candy  store here in town and enjoy some Nostalgic candy. If you’re lucky maybe even one of our “strongmen” will show off for you!

With the Easter Bunny about to hop into most of our homes, I thought it was a good time to remind pet owners about the dangers in giving your pet chocolates.

Keep in mind , the worst thing a chocolate egg can do to most of us is add an inch or two to our waist, but to a dog or cat, it can make them very sick and poison them. Chocolate contains a chemical called Theobromine and pets have a real problem trying to metabolize it. It begins to builds up in their system and at times can cause the pet to go into cardiac arrest.

Those Easter candy baskets the bunny brings  look just as good to our family pets, so use caution when leaving any chocolate candy around.

I did some research to see just how much chocolate it would take to cause your pet serious problems and it seems the amount of chocolate it takes to make your dog sick depends on the kind of chocolate they have eaten and the dogs weight

White chocolate has the least amount of stimulants, but baking chocolate, milk chocolate or coca beans themselves have the highest sources that can lead to toxic poison in your pets. Here is a breakdown straight from the vet

White Chocolate - a 20lb dog would need to eat 55 pounds of white chocolate to cause nervous system troubles. That’s a lot of candy!
 Milk Chocolate –  a 20lb dog would only have to eat  one pound of milk chocolate to have the toxic effect.  Hide your candy bars, milk chocolate eggs and other chocolate treats from your pets.

Semi Sweet Chocolate – 20lb dog would only need to eat 6 ounces of this before they would become very sick.  Dark Chocolate lovers beware!

Even though your pet might not eat those amounts, and might  just of ran off with a few Hershey’s Kisses or even a little piece of your candy bar, the high fat content in those candies may cause vomiting and diarrhea.  The effects of chocolate consumed by a pet can last 12 to 72  hours.  

Let’s keep Easter sweet and safe!  Keep your candy treats away from your pets, there are many great tasting made in the USA pets treats available today for their Easter Baskets

As I read the newspapers, scan the Internet and watch TV, one would think the anger and fear from the economic nightmare  would start to  affect our customers too, but the candy buying customers we have  are still showing their sugary smiles and sweet tones.
At first, I thought the spike in our candy sales was coming from the up and coming arrival of the Easter Bunny, but after reviewing what was selling I noticed it was all of our candy selections, not just our Easter Candy treats , that were  flying off our shelves.
Let’s face it, candy  is comforting and lifts spirits. It costs a heck of a lot less and  is more easily accessible than going to the doctor and getting something for the same results.  In trying times, people  tend to think back to the easier ,  less stressful days .  What better thoughts  are there than your childhood days of buying a bag full of candy for a quarter and running down the street with your best friends.
To say remembering those days has helped candy stay recession-proof, I’d be going out on a limb, but when you look at the past and think back to the Great Depression, The Candy Companies stayed in business and kept people happy, just like today!
Yes the good old Necco Wafers, Hershey Bars, Nestle’s  and Tootsie Rolls were   helping people cope back then and are still today.
I think what isn’t recession-proof in my line of  business is the high end candies. I just read the other day that Lindt Candy Company was closing  tons of their stores, but yet all the other companies making the cheaper chocolates and the old fashioned candies are booming. It was also reported  that gummi candy and gum sales this quarter have risen double digits.

My theory is even getting stronger as I watch our  lower priced Easter candy fly off the shelves and the more expensive brands  sit waiting for me to run a special or put them on sale. I wonder why Lindt  didn’t see this happening and lower their prices to fit the hard economic times? Maybe because they weren’t around in the  Great  Depression, so they really don’t know how to market their products?
Regardless of any of those who seem to be clueless, our candy strategy is working. We are very fortunate to be in business since 1939; that’s seventy years of weathering both good and bad times so we know how to adapt. We carry candy from every manufacturer and do understand people’s wants and needs. I guess that comes from being family owned and operated all these years.
This Easter Candy season I think will be one for the record books, not just in candy sales figures, but in what’s popular in those baskets. Yes you’re  going to see the good old fashioned  standby  jelly beans, marshmallow peeps,  hollow chocolate bunnies and coconut cream eggs, but from the looks of it,  you’re going to see the good old daily Nostalgic candy treats like Tootsie Rolls, Necco Wafers and Bit o Honey’s making their way back in.
Candy is an old fashioned  comfort food and I think we all could use a little of those sweet memories from the days before banks collapsed and government bailouts, so I think now is a good time to buy a bigger basket and reward yourself and others  with a good old fashioned  sweet treat!