When Drew Siegert and his family took over Betty Jane Candies in July 2011, they knew the Dubuque, Iowa-based confectionery retailer had developed a loyal following throughout eastern Iowa.

Fostering an environment that begets innovation requires a combination of open-mindedness and discipline, incubation and inspiration.

The Conference will focus on the use of dairy ingredients in confections,sustainability issues, and formulation and processing challenges.

From a historic tour of Pennsylvania to hosting RCI's 93rd annual convention, and touring 7 companies in Buffalo, N.Y., it's been a great year!

AACT is accepting applications for the John Kitt Memorial Scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic year. John Kitt, who died in August 2009, was a confectionery researcher who devoted 43 years to the art of candy making, working for companies such as Knechtel Laboratories, Standard Brands, Nabisco Brands and Wm. Wrigley Co.

Ashley Reinsmith, Creative & Coordinator Extraordinaire, and Terese McDonald, founder, have taken the Chicago-based Candyality stores to the next level of confectionery retail.

 Carle & Montanari and OPM combined their know-how to create the first Italian group capable of providing complete, turnkey solutions for the processing and packaging of chocolate and confectionery products. 

Carrot, hibiscus, radish, and lemon — food for rabbits, and now ingredients for candy. Driven by strong consumer demand to go “natural,” Nestlé has started to use these natural alternatives to provide color or flavor in popular products such as Rolo and Smarties. And, by doing so, the company has become the first major confectionery manufacturer in the U.K. to remove all artificial ingredients from its products — all 79 of the confectionery products sold in the region now are free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.

What happens when you combine hip hop music, candy and inspirational messages. Apparently, Micheck da Candy — a new novelty candy created by rapper Chuck D, of Public Enemy, and Sensei Aaron, Chuck D’s first MC partner and former bodyguard, in collaboration with CandyRific.