Madelaine Chocolate
Booth 1183
800.322.1505
www.madelainechocolate.com
Madelaine Chocolate offers an adorable gift box that houses two 1-ounce squatty rabbits, eight mini bunnies and three Easter eggs for five ounces of rich, creamy premium solid milk chocolate in each gift box. The clear cover showcases each piece that’s nestled in a gold gift box — perfect for any Easter basket or standalone gift.

Imaginings 3 Inc./Flix Candy
Booth 1209
847.647.1370
www.flixcandy.com
Imaginings 3 introduces its New Big Stuff Lip Pops in four new seasonal lip styles, with Bunny Lips for the upcoming Easter season. Offered in Watermelon, Green Apple and Blue Raspberry. As always, the mouth remains a toy long after the huge .8-ounce pop is gone. Packed in a 12/12 and 72-count Gravity Feed. Suggested retail price is 99 cents to $1.29.

R.M. Palmer Co.
Booth 653
610.372.8971
www.rmpalmer.com
Fudge-filled and double crisp flat-back eggs, each packed into a freshness-sealed pouch and then packed in a colorful Easter design bag. Perfect item for the Easter basket or Easter egg hunts. Suggested retail price is $2 for a 9-ounce bag or $5 for a 24-ounce bag.

Ford Gum & Machine Co. Inc.
Booth 1967
847.955.0003
www.fordgum.com
The Jelly Bean Carrot Bouquet is a 9-in. tall bouquet that includes 3 ounces of fruit-flavored jelly beans and three flower-shaped lollipops. Suggested retail price is 99 cents.

R.M. Palmer Co.
Booth 653
610.372.8971
www.rmpalmer.com
Each Double Crisp Egg is foiled in one of four different Disney Princesses – Ariel, Belle, Cinderella or Jasmine – or four different characters from the “Cars” movie – Lightning McQueen, Sally, Mater or King – foils. Each is then packed into a colorful display box and then in a counter displayer. Suggested retail price is $1 per 2-ounce package.

Ford Gum & Machine Co. Inc.
Booth 1967
847.955.0003
www.fordgum.com
Wonka Sweetart Easter Egg Treats is a large egg carton filled with eight plastic eggs, each filled with branded Wonka candy. Suggested retail price is $1.99.

NECCO and Signature Brands, makers of PAAS, the No.1 egg-dye brand, have signed a multi-year licensing agreement to create an exciting opportunity for co-branding two of the most popular Easter brands.

NECCO developed three special Easter candies to replicate the egg-dye look — “Splashed” Malted Milk Eggs, “Painted” Fruit Snacks and “Decorated” Candy Eggs.

New items being introduced for the NECCO 2008 Easter Program include the following: “Splashed” Malted Milk Eggs in a 12-ounce laydown bag with five ice-crème flavored centers; “Painted” Fruit Snack Treats in a 10-ounce laydown bag with four flavors; “Decorated” Candy Eggs in a 12-ounce laydown bag with five Smoothie flavors; and “Decorated” Candy Eggs in a four-pack block style.

Graphics on the NECCO/PAAS Easter candy items feature the lovable “Cotton,” the PAAS signature Easter Bunny, and his friends Terrence Turtle, Lollichop, Freddie Frog, Feathers, Maxwell Mouse and Sally Squirrel. The whimsical drawings are all adapted from the PAAS line of books.

Peeps Yellow Tulips will burst into spring, delivering the first new spring shape since 1999. The Peeps line-up for spring includes the iconic Peeps Chicks, Peeps Bunnies and Peeps Eggs in a variety of flavors, colors and sizes.

According to IRI data, Peeps Brand Candies continue to be the No. 1 non-chocolate brand at Easter. Peeps shapes are used for crafting and decorating by 30 percent of Just Born consumers.

Suggested retail price for Peeps Tulips are $1.19 for a 9-count package and 59 cents for a 3-count package. Both are shipped in a 24-count display-ready case.

Michael Leese has embarked on a campaign to “chocolize” North America.

His term refers to a combination of the words “chocolate” and “personalize,” and that is precisely what his new Toronto-based business venture, Chocotelegram, is all about.

Chocotelegram provides customers with a vehicle for sending customized greetings — spelled out in premium Belgian chocolate. With Chocotelegram’s “chocofont,” which the company describes as somewhat akin to chocolate Scrabble letters, purchasers can create their own messages or purchase one of the tried and true such as “Happy Birthday” or “Happy Anniversary.”

Message options range from three pieces of chocolate to 60 pieces, displayed in a variety of configurations with price points extending from $4 to $72. Chocotelegrams may be ordered online or via an 800 number. A variety of shipping options — including overnight delivery — are offered.

With the proliferation of everything from customized phone ring tones to personalized messages on M&M’s candies, the time seems right for Chocotelegram, Leese reflects. Including the recipient’s name in a Chocotelegram shows him or her that you’ve put a bit of thought into the gift, he notes.  

“It’s a feel-good present,” says Leese, who also operates a licensed candy business in Canada.

The Chocotelegram business model originated in Holland about five years ago, and the company founder now licenses the concept on a country-by-country basis. Leese was drawn to the concept when he first viewed it at the ISM Sweets & Biscuits Expo in Cologne, Germany, about two years ago and soon secured the rights to market Chocotelegram in Canada and the United States.

About 60 percent of Chocotelegram’s business is in the corporate gifts arena. On the consumer side, birthdays are the most common occasion for which Chocotelegram messages are ordered. Also, quite a few have been ordered for marriage proposals, says Leese, who adds that business peaks around the holidays.