Chocolate Candy Company

A 'Birnn' Desire: An inside look at Birnn Chocolates of Vermont, and the family that runs it

Fourth-generation family member Julia Birnn Fields and her husband Mel take over from famed confectioners Jeff and Bill Birnn, anxious to usher in the famed Vermont-based chocolatier into the next centennial.

Bernie Pacyniak

February 25, 2016

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"In the end, the company has been in the business for 100 years, and customers really appreciate the fact that the fourth generation is taking over," say Julia Birnn Fields.

Birnn celebrates 100 years with a special video

Vermont-based candy maker looks back over the last century in the confectionery business.

February 24, 2016

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So how do you celebrate 100 hundred years of making chocolate and serving the retail confectionery community?

MARS' Renewed Mantra: How new President Tracey Massey is changing things.

In just a year as the company's new president, Tracey Massey embraces innovation, flexibility and responsiveness as keys to further growing the company.

Bernie Pacyniak

September 29, 2015

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"What surprised me when I came in was that we needed to be even more customer focused. We have always been very brand and consumer focused and the biggest change we are making is further driving customer centricity throughout our business," Tracey Massey says.

Kettle Award Recipient

Flying High: An in-depth look at Michael Rosenberg's Promotion in Motion

Michael G. Rosenberg, president and ceo of The Promotion In Motion Cos. and this year’s recipient of the Kettle Award, not only gets close and personal with readers, he also provides them with an aerial view of where the company is headed.

Bernie Pacyniak

August 17, 2015

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“We learned a lesson,” Rosenberg says. “We were a bit too conservative, too hesitant to expand manufacturing and packaging capacity. So we made it our mandate last year to find a way to do it. And now, we’re back to our normal growth rates.”

Natasha’s Just Brittle goes from the classroom to the candy store

7 Questions for the owner of Natasha's Just Brittle

Crystal Lindell

March 11, 2015

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Natasha’s Just Brittle started seven years ago, back in 2007, as a learning activity — literally.

Thorntons: Providing an outlet for sweets

A Thorntons Café in an outlet mall? Well, it’s not a High Street (Main Street) address, that’s for sure. But it’s definitely a successful address.

Bernie Pacyniak

March 10, 2015

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A 3,000-sq.-ft. shop sells not only Thorntons’ confections, but also a limited selection of drinks, sandwiches, cakes and ice cream.

Fine-Tuning Thorntons

Largest British confectionery company undergoes structural and cultural changes in the process of becoming a consumer goods powerhouse.

Bernie Pacyniak

March 10, 2015

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It was not a gathering that Jonathan Hart, newly hired chief executive for Thorntons, recalls looking forward to. He had just joined the company in January 2011.

Delysia Chocolatier: Engineering delight

Industrial engineer turns hobby into a second career, designing high-end, award-winning chocolates.

Bernie Pacyniak

January 16, 2015

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In following her father’s footsteps, a civil engineer, Nicole Patel didn’t neglect art for the sake of science.

Chocolate Bar Trends: Candymakers continue to raise the "bar."

Consumers look for innovation from both mainstream and premium chocolate makers.

Crystal Lindell

August 13, 2014

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These days you can grab a chocolate bar with almost anything inside. In the past year companies have introduced flavors ranging from marshmallows to ginger to hemp seeds.

2014 Global State Of The Industry: Beyond Borders

Emerging and even mature markets hold promise for solid confectionery growth, but primarily for those that show ingenuity, innovation and insight.

Bernie Pacyniak

June 13, 2014

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Vintage Confections sells hi-end lollipops for $40 in China — a sweet vignette that helps illustrate the global state of the industry for confections: borders are breaking down.