Archive for June, 2020

If you work at a concession stand, food service outlet, or candy store, protecting yourself from exposure to COVID-19 is paramount and is something that should be taken seriously.

As we know, the coronavirus is spread from person-to-person through respiratory droplets from coughs, sneezes, and common conversation, as well as from having close contact with others (6 feet). It’s also possible to become infected with COVID-19 simply by touching a surface or an item with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.

There are several ways for you to protect yourself from exposure as outlined by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which include:

– Limit close contact with others by maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet, when possible.

– Minimize handling cash, credit cards, and mobile devices, where possible.

– Practice routine cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched surfaces, such as workstations, cash registers, touch screens, door handles, tables, and countertops, following the directions on the cleaning product’s label.

– Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol can be used, but not as a substitute for cleaning hands with soap and water.

– Key times to clean hands in general include:

– Before, during, and after preparing food

– Before eating food

– After using the toilet

– After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing

– Additional times to clean hands on the job include:

– Before and after work shifts

– Before and after work breaks

– After touching frequently touched surfaces

– After interacting with a customer who is visibly ill

– After putting on, touching, or removing cloth face coverings

– After touching objects that have been handled by customers, such as utensils, menus, cups, and trash

– After touching dirty surfaces like floors, walls and soiled carriers and equipment

– Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Here at Blair Candy, in our warehouse, offices, and our retail outlet, all our team members have been trained on proper sanitation procedures and our policies revised to ensure that those who feel ill stay home and monitor their symptoms. Face coverings are required not only for our team members, but for visitors and customers to our outlets, in addition to proper social distancing.

Our wholesale division has increased our supply of face masks and hand sanitizer so our bricks-and-mortar customers can rest assured that there will be plenty available for them to purchase.

We have also added these items to our website for those individuals, businesses outside our local delivery/pick-up area, and our regular wholesale customers can have access to them as well.

3-Ply Disposable Face Masks
Available in 10, 50, 80, and 2000 packs. FDA approved, contains no glass fibers, are hypoallergenic with a very low resistance to breathing and features an adaptable nose bar for a perfect fit.

KN95 Disposable Face Masks
Available in 3 and 25 packs.

Hand Sanitizer
Available in .33oz, 1oz, and 2oz case boxes. 75% isopropyl alcohol formulated according to FDA and WHO criteria. Made in the USA.

When summer turns on the heat, a sweet treat coupled with an ice cold glass of lemonade is perfect for an afternoon snack break. Because chocolate doesn’t do to well in hot weather, we have some go-to treats that are perfect for the summer and won’t melt.

Licorice
Black or red, what’s your favorite? While the debate rages on as to which is better, there’s one thing we all can agree on… everyone loves licorice! Whether it’s in the traditional rope form such as Twizzlers, or the nostalgic licorice wheels that bring back memories of the penny candy days and the corner candy store. Licorice is a perfect summer snack because it stands up to the heat, is easy to pack in a lunchbox, take along for a picnic, or enjoy at the beach.

Gum
From Big League Chew and Bazooka to Wrigley’s and everything in between, chewing gum keeps dry mouth at bay during the summer months and comes in so many different flavors. If you spend a lot of time outdoors whether working or playing, there’s a gum made especially for you! Quench Sports Gum is designed to do what it’s name implies – quench your thirst and it’s perfect for sports teams and little leagues.

Lollipops
Summer and lollipops go hand in hand. We bet you remember being a child walking around a county fair or an amusement park with a gigantic lollipop in hand! These sweet treats have been around for more than a century and are available in multiple flavors with or without a candy or bubblegum center. Tootsie Pops, Charms Blow Pops, and Whirly Pops are great for kids of all ages to enjoy all summer long.

Jelly Beans
Colorful, delicious, and available in so many unique flavors, jelly beans are one of our favorite summer sweets. For those who like a variety of flavors, Jelly Belly jelly beans won’t disappoint. They’re known for creating some very unique flavors as well as the classics such as a bag of all black licorice jelly beans. For those with special dietary needs, they also offer individual snack size bags of sugar free jelly beans.

When choosing summer candy, stay away from picking types that will melt. Chocolate, as you know, won’t hold up well in the heat so opt for sweets such as the ones we listed here so you won’t be disappointed.

Gender reveals are all the rage right now and many have been coming up with some very creative ways to make the big announcement. From smoke bombs and confetti to cakes and pinatas, we’ve seen a lot! But, when it comes to sweet occasions like this, we can’t help but think about different ways to incorporate candy, so let’s go!

First, let’s head over to our candy by color section – the perfect spot for selecting sweets in specific colors for wedding receptions, bridal showers, birthday parties, class reunions… and gender reveals!

Of course, we have a great selection of pink and blue candy perfect for the occasion, many available in bulk for satisfying the sweet tooth of a small to large gathering.

Pink and blue mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or Hershey Kisses are perfect for putting into large clear pedestal jars or bowls. They come in 5lb bags so there’s great for filling up these large types of containers, and let’s be honest… nobody is going to pass up one of these classic chocolate treats.

We all know that kids just love lollipops so why not include these as part of your gender reveal to welcome in your new addition! Whirly Pops are available in, you guessed it, pink and blue. You can even tie a little tag onto the lollipop’s stick with your family name and date of the party so your guests can have a keepsake of your special day.

Another candy that goes great in clear display containers are pink and blue chocolate balls. They can also be used as small party favors. Take a small amount and put them into a small clear drawstring bag, tie the top with a pink or blue ribbon, and voila!

There’s also large gum balls and some classic candies such as pink and blue rock candy sticks and the ever popular candy sticks that bring a bit of nostalgia to your party.

Whether you’re hosting a gender reveal party or another event and you’re looking for creative ways to incorporate candy, just head over to our candy by color section to pair sweets with your company, sports team, high school, or college’s colors and wow your guests with a sweet surprise.

The other day we shared the “Best Rice Krispies Treats Recipe” which if you didn’t whip up a batch yet, you should! Desserts and treats made with marshmallows are perfect for any time of the year, but are especially great for summer picnics and cookouts.

While dreaming about those delicious marshmallow krispies treats, we started thinking about adding a little twist to them by incorporating some of our colorful marshmallow bits into them! These mini marshmallows are the ingredient that everyone loves in Lucky Charms cereal, but not too many know that they’re available to purchase in bulk all by themselves.

Now that we have your attention, these charms marshmallow bits come in both an 8oz and 5lb bag and can be used in a variety of ways. Today, we’re going to share a few of them.

First, let’s talk about those Rice Krispies Treats. You can go about this two different ways. If you want to keep these treats a little on the traditional side but with a splash of color, follow the original recipe and add in a handful or two of our charms marshmallow bits to the Rice Krispies cereal. These won’t melt as much as the regular marshmallows will, so they’ll retain their shape and texture.

If you want to go a different route and substitute Lucky Charms cereal for the Rice Krispies, you can do that as well! But since we all know there’s never enough marshmallow in Lucky Charms, we recommend adding some additional marshmallow bits to the recipe.

Lucky Charms Marshmallow Treats photo courtesy of showmetheyummy. 

Here’s a dessert or even a snack that you can make and take with you to a BBQ or picnic and it looks simply delicious! Lucky Charms Munch is a pretty simple recipe to make that has just a handful of ingredients – pretzels, M&Ms, white chocolate melts, Lucky Charms marshmallows, and some sprinkles to top it off.

Lucky Charms Munch. Photo courtesy of deliciouslysprinkled.

The recipe for this eye-catching treat is simple, doesn’t require you to use the stove, and is ready in under a half-hour.

A third way to incorporate our marshmallow bits is the easiest and one to surely cool everyone down on a hot summer day. Grab your favorite flavor of ice cream, top it off with some chocolate syrup, sprinkles, whipped cream, and these marshmallows! How simple and delicious is that?

Lucky Charms Marshmallow Sundae. Photo courtesy tbsp.

By now you’re probably saying, “wow, I’m “lucky” I found this post!” We’re happy you did and we hope you enjoy some of our suggestions for enjoying a popular ingredient in cereal to make some fantastic snacks and desserts.

Summer is the time of year for creating memories. After all, it’s when most of us plan our vacation – a time for some well deserved rest and relaxation with our family. No matter how old we are, we always seem to recall something from a vacation past.

One summertime memory for many of us is a vacation to the shore complete with the smell of the ocean, walks along the beach, and visiting the many shops that line the boardwalk. One shop that always catches the attention of passerby is the salt water taffy shop.

People line up at the big windows looking in as candy makers pull, roll, and wrap thousands of pieces of taffy a day. After watching it being made, there’s no chance you’re walking away without stopping in to buy a box or two.

Salt Water Taffy

Taffy has been around since the 1880’s with the “salt water” version originating in Atlantic City, NJ where it’s still made and enjoyed year round. There isn’t any difference between the two varieties other than the folklore surrounding how salt water taffy got its name.

Since the first piece of hand-made taffy was rolled over a century ago, major candy companies began to capitalize on the sweet treat. Today the most popular taffy brands are Laffy Taffy and Air Heads. Both offer tasty chews in a variety of flavors including grape, raspberry, cherry and one that may surprise you – banana!

Laffy Taffy Banana

While these brands of taffy may be more familiar with the younger generation, the older folks among us may remember some nostalgic candy that’s still being made – Bonomo Turkish Taffy.

Turkish Taffy isn’t truly taffy, it’s actually categorized as nougat. It’s also not from Turkey, it was originally made in Coney Island New York after World War II. However, it’s creator and founder of the Bonomo Company, immigrated to New York from Turkey, hence the connection.

Turkish Taffy was invented in 1912 and was sold in stores and candy counters throughout its run before the brand was purchased by Tootsie Roll in 1980. In 1989, the once popular taffy-hybrid was discontinued. But like many stories, this one too has a happy ending!

Bonomo Turkish Taffy

In 2010, the candy was brought back to life by the Bonomo Turkish Candy Company and has been manufacturing the classic candy in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and… you guess it – banana!

Since its reintroduction ten years ago, Turkish Taffy remains one of our most popular nostalgic treats in our lineup of classic candy.

While nothing can compare to freshly made taffy from one of those boardwalk candy stores, all of the taffy we sell is guaranteed to bring back some of those great summer time memories of those trips to the shore and peering into that window.

When you think of gummy candy, the first thing that comes to mind is Gummi Bears, of course. Everyone seems to love these colorful, fruit flavored snacks but we bet you don’t know the history of this “bear-y delicious” candy.

The gummy bear was born in Germany, a creation of candy maker Hans Riegel Sr., who got the idea of creating a bear shaped candy after seeing trained bears perform in street shows throughout Europe. In 1922, he introduced the first gummy candy which he named Dancing Bear which became the predecessor of the candy we know and love today.

The popularity of Riegel’s Dancing Bear spawned a slightly smaller version of the treat which was introduced in 1967 called Gold-Bears. These are the gummi bears we gobble up by the millions today and are still manufactured by Riegel’s company – Haribo.

Gold-Bears gummi candy comes in five delicious flavors: raspberry (red); orange (orange); strawberry (green); pineapple (colorless); and lemon (yellow).

The success Haribo had with their gummy candy over the years spawned other candy manufacturers to get into the business of gummies making this type of sweet snack one of the most popular around the world.

Besides the original bear, gummi candy can be found in all shapes, sizes and flavors. Some of the more unique ones include:

Gummy Sharks
There’s nothing fishy about these gummy sharks that are big sellers a few times a year – especially when it’s Shark Week on TV or during the summer when you’re hosting a JAWS viewing party from your swimming pool.

Cola Bottles
These are now manufactured by a few different candy companies, but Haribo’s Happy Cola gummy bottles are one of our faves. Shaped like a classic Coca Cola bottle, you’ll want to pop one open for a cola-like treat.

Gummy Worms
Next to gummi bears, gummy worms are the most popular gummy candy. They’re used for ice cream toppings, creepy Halloween treats, or just as a snack that kids love to eat to say “I ate a worm!”

There you have it! A little history of the gummy bear that started it all and some of our top picks. Be sure to check out all the different types of gummy candy that we stock.