Original Hawaiian Chocolate

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

HawaiiChoc1

If you’re vacationing on Hawaii (which I highly recommend), you might think you’re already having a hell of a good time.  But there’s always room for chocolate, and the Original Hawaiian Chocolate factory is there to make life a little more complete. (more…)

So Hot Right Now: Red Food Color

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

If you’re looking for inspiration for the upcoming gift-giving season, look no further than McCormick .  Their Flavor Forecast ™ trend report is out with the latest on what’s hot.  This year’s flavor of choice?  Red food coloring.

Seriously, someone got paid to write a report that included “Vanilla & Red Food Color” as an exciting flavor trend. (more…)

Hershey’s Online Store Closing

Monday, July 6th, 2009

Oh Hershey.  What the hell is wrong with you?  You strike a deal with Barry Callebaut so that you don’t have to bother making chocolate any more.  You move your candy production to Mexico.  You buy two small artisan companies, then shut down their factories and lay off their staff. You can’t keep a Sharffen berger company store open in NYC despite it being a well-respected brand…even after you bought it.  And now you’re shutting down your online store. (more…)

Dark Chocolate Reeses: it seems so obvious

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

So apparently Hershey released a limited edition dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cup when Dark Knight came out.  I guess I was too busy watching Dark Knight to notice.  Lucky for me, they’re making it a full time addition to the Reese’s lineup.  (more…)

Valrhona’s Redesign

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Valrhona has given their Grand Cru retail line (that’s single origin chocolate bars, for any rookies out there) a makeover.  Personally I prefer oblong bars to squares, but otherwise this is a pretty sexy design.  Valrhona’s retail bars have gotten kind of scattered in terms of marketing and packaging; it would be nice to see the whole line given a unified identity.  It’s worth noting that these 70g bars appear to be replacing their 100g bars, with the same (or greater) price tag.

Valrhona’s Nouvelle Tablettes

Ethel M’s Closing Its Doors

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Chicago can say goodbye to Mars’ Ethel M’s chocolate cafes.  Actually, they already have, which is why Ethel’s is closing down.  Five of six cafes in the Chicago area are closing by the end of April, with #6 to follow.  (more…)

Hershey betrays Scharffen Berger

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Well, we all knew it was coming, right?  Hershey has demonstrated how much the Scharffen Berger name means to them: they’re closing the Berkeley plant and moving all Scharffen Berger operations to Illinois. (more…)

You Are Aware Of Mini Eggs

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Big Cadbury creme egg

Well, we are all recovering from the holidays and looking ahead.  Now that the hubbub has died down, are you ready to start enjoying the magic of the Easter season?  Yes, you are, starting January 1.

This illuminating press release arrived a few weeks ago, with a clear message for retailers:  unless you want to crash and burn this Spring, buy lots of Cadbury products and put ‘em up front.  (more…)