If you work in a family business, then you already know. It’s not easy. Whether it’s a local candy store or an online wholesale business, there are politics and emotions involved that no corporate-culture business even comes close to. So how do you manage all of that so your family-owned can thrive?

Communication is key. Family dynamics are complex and always evolving. If you own a family-run business, maybe you hope to one day sell it and retire. Certainly, if someone came along with a big enough check, you’d consider selling it even sooner than that. But have you thought about the fact that your kids might want to take it over one day? Managing their expectations is an important part of maintaining a healthy and honest perspective for everyone.

It’s a complicated situation if you have a child who has grown up being involved in the business. He or she might not have ever known a world where the business didn’t exist. They have likely spent most of their years helping out around the store and created a powerful emotional connection. Talking with them about the future of the business creates an understanding that they will be involved in, and not excluded from, the decisions even if they won’t have the ultimate say in what happens. Don’t let years go by while allowing expectations to continue to diverge. That’s a recipe for a family crisis.

Know your roles. Many family business owners say that they fell into their roles naturally. Don’t count on it. Defining specific roles is helpful in many ways. It establishes boundaries that make it less likely that family members will be stepping on each others figurative toes. It also helps the business work more efficiently. If everyone has their own unique role that fits into the overall system of running the business, then it’s more likely that the balance of labors is spread out to cover all the important areas of the business. If everyone is concerned with inventory, and no one is focused on improving sales, the business will suffer and tensions could run high.

These guidelines are true for every business, whether you’ve got a chocolate and salt water taffy shop on Main Street or an online bulk candy store. In our next edition of How to Make a Family Business Work, we’ll discuss maybe the most important factor in keeping it all together: trust.

Hershey recently announced a comprehensive plan to help save lives and make better chocolate. They are working with several partners to improve sustainable farming practices, reduce child labor violations and develop stronger communities in areas where cocoa farming is a major part of the economy.

The world famous chocolate company hopes to improve living conditions in these areas so farmers can improve yield and sustainability of their cocoa crop for decades to come. Bulk candy lovers everywhere should approve of that. Yes, it will mean continued enjoyment of Hershey’s chocolate candy down the line, but it will also guide the conditions under which the cocoa is produced to improve, and lives could be saved because of it.

Most of the cocoa in the world, over 70 percent, is grown in West Africa. This also happens to be one of the places in the most need of economic empowerment and community development. Conditions in farming communities in West Africa have been pretty bad. Child labor and poor health and education structures have meant worsening conditions in recent years. Hershey has decided that it is in everyone’s best interest for them to step forward and do something about it.

Through strategic partnerships, Hershey is adopting a multifaceted plan that it estimates will take five years and over $10 million to develop. The focus will be on accelerating farmer and family development by working with agriculture experts, community developers and governments to educate and encourage farmers. Providing resources to farmers is the first, and seemingly most important, step in the process.

An increase in cocoa yield of 50-100% is estimated for farmers who will be a part of Hershey’s program. By using the resources Hershey will provide, which includes not only knowledge of best practices but high-yield seedlings and organic fertilization, farmers could see a large boost in their family income. In regions where farming income is 50 percent of the local economy, the implications for such growth are very promising.
Working with partners like the Rainforest Alliance and Source Trust, Hershey will set up community based organizations where farmers can build community relationships, source improved planting material and get financing for further improvements to their farms.

In an effort to curb the unsafe and illegal child labor practices in the region, inspectors will monitor the practices of farmers who provide cocoa to Hershey. Through the Rainforest Alliance and local government, training programs will be set up to increase school attendance and improve schools.

In summing up, Hershey has decided to get involved in an area of the world with which it already has a symbiotic relationship. Hershey provides a large market in which farmers can sell their products and farmers produce the cocoa beans that are the very fabric of their chocolate candy products. Under this plan, farmers should make more money, communities develop, health and education improve, and children will be safer and healthier.

Support Hershey in their efforts to improve cocoa farming conditions. Buy Hershey’s chocolate candy from the online bulk candy store, ACandyStore.com.

To read more about their programs, go to:
www.HersheyCocoaSustainability.com

More interested in finding out the answer to the latter, I went hunting to verify the merits of this preposterous claim. Surely, someone was pulling the leg of the guy who loves candy and technology above all else. I have come to find out that this story is true. According to Hershey themselves, they are, in fact, developing a mobile network…in Africa.

That’s right. As a part of their continued effort to improve the lives of cocoa farmers in West Africa, Hershey has been rolling out a mobile phone network in Ghana. It’s called CocoaLink and it started last year. The program is a joint venture with the World Cocoa Foundation and the Ghana Cocoa Board where cocoa farmers will use low cost mobile phones linked to the Hershey CocoaLink network with the idea that it will help them be better farmers.

The idea, as I understand it, is that the farmers will not only be more productive when they can communicate more quickly and efficiently within their community, but the phones will also be used to deliver informative tips to help them. Text and voice messages about cocoa farming best practices, sustainability and family health are sent to the farmers with the hopes that they will adopt better techniques and live healthier lives.

Healthier, more productive farmers means more chocolate for Hershey and more income for the farmers. It’s a win-win. Farmers who make more money and have healthier families are more likely to keep growing cocoa. A healthy cocoa industry helps West African countries, like Ghana, achieve and maintain a more stable and diverse economic system. Sounds pretty good. So, how’s the progress so far?

According to Hershey, it’s going well enough to expand into the Ivory Coast. There are about 600,000 cocoa farmers there and it is estimated that half are already using low cost mobile phones.

I have to say, I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be able to use a cell phone that looks like a Hershey bar here in the US of A. But it sounds like this program has the potential to change lives and support community growth and progress in an area of the world that desperately needs it.

Chocolate is making the world a better place.

Support Hershey in their mission to help West African farmers, buy Hershey’s chocolate bulk candy at ACandyStore.com.

In most West African farming communities, the resources to farm efficiently are limited. Not only do they lack all the sophisticated technological machinery and equipment that can optimize yield with computer-like accuracy, but basic family needs are sometimes lacking as well. Health is a big one. Sanitation and drought concerns have caused health issues, but lack of proper nutrition is a factor too. Part of that is because the families don’t have enough money to properly feed themselves.

Hershey is doing a great thing by not just giving the farmers a fish, but teaching them how to fish. I knew there was a parable in this story somewhere. By working with local experts in agriculture and in community development, Hershey hopes to achieve genuine progress in these areas. They estimate that family farms are capable of producing 50% more cocoa than they currently produce. That kind of bulk increase would provide a nice bump in the income of the farming families which would benefit the communities as a whole.

This isn’t the first time Hershey has gotten involved with cocoa farmers. They have been providing assistance to for over 50 years. So, they now have an extensive network of partnerships they can leverage to provide knowledge and other resources to the West African cocoa farmers. There are currently 2 million of these farmers and their growth and continued success would mean that Hershey will have a reliable supplier for the raw material that makes some of the best chocolate candy out there.

Here’s what their CEO, J.P. Bilbrey, had to say about the project:

“Our global consumers want The Hershey Company to be a leader in responsible business practices and in finding smart ways to benefit cocoa communities. We are excited and humbled by this opportunity to create positive change in West Africa.”

Corporate CEO-speak or genuine good will? I say, who cares. If it works like they say it will, it’s a win-win. We, the candy lovers, get to enjoy Hersheys chocolate for years to come and communities is West Africa have healthier and happier families. Kudos to Hershey on a smart business move for all the right reasons.

Support Hershey and their campaign; buy Hershey chocolate candy in bulk at ACandyStore.com.

Photograph by: Karen Robinson
Hersheys Helps African Family Farms Make More Money and Grow More Cocoa.

The latest in a trend of awkward, what-the-heck-was-that-all-about candy commercials this Jolly Ranchers Crunch and Chew commercial features a turtle that not only uses telepathy to communicate with others, but can also fly (without wings, or course – turtles don’t have wings, duh), and when provoked shoot lasers out of its eyes.

And if you think that’s a little weird, the turtle is hanging out with some really creepy guys to boot. The first guy is an older tweaked out guy compulsively lifting weights in front of a television. The next guy is sitting at the table with the turtle and looking like he’s got a severe case of the munchies.

Candy companies have started hitting the awkwardly unconfortable angle really hard. It started with the Skittles commercial with the guy in an interview who has a really long beard that he can manipulate to grab things with. Naturally, he uses his scraggly beard powers to attempt to grab the Skittles from the interviewer. It’s an awkward exchange and it’s awkward to watch. But it definitely gets your attention.

We see this trend with snack foods as well. Cheetos commercials have been pushing the awkward envelope with the latest line of Chester Cheetah commercials. In one commercial the cheetah and another guy are having a house party in a house that has barely begun to be built. If you’ve seen it, you know it’s weird, but that’s the goal of the campaign. The funny thing is, weird works with snack foods and, perhaps, candy too.

The Jolly Ranchers commercial ends with the turtle feeling provoked by the man’s desire to eat him. He shoot off a warning laser shot from his eyeballs and flies out the door. It creates a moment in the room where the viewers look at each other and ask, “did that really just happen?” Jolly Rancher does a good job of working the candy in there as well, so you remember what they’re selling too.

What do you think? Are these commercials targeting stoner-types or are they just trying to get your attention?

Who knows what drove your Mr. Noah Jeffrey to climb up through the chute and into the belly of the claw machine.  Maybe he was out of quarters and frustrated that he hadn’t been able to retrieve his prize the conventional way.  Maybe he wanted to show the engineers their design flaw.  Or maybe he saw something he wanted and applied a fundamental law of geometry.  The shortest distance between a boy and his candy is a straight line.

It didn’t take long for Noah to reach the pinnacle of his mountain and assume his role as king of the day.  He must have felt like Scrooge McDuck swimming around his money bin as he waded through the pool of goodies.  But he didn’t waste much time frolicking around.  No sooner than when he reached the inner reservoir did he begin to distribute his riches to the other kids in the area.  This boy is no king, he is the next Robin Hood!

As the growing crowd of children laughed and sang his praise, the boy ate his favorite candies and played with his toys triumphantly.  But this story is not without a fair amount of drama.  Not long after a crowd started to form, his parents came over to see what was happening.  They noticed that Noah was sweating badly.  These vending machines are not made for people to inhabit.  There is little oxygen in there and the lights make it very hot, actually.  Someone needed to help him get out fast.

With the fire department on their way and a crowd of people watching his every move, the young man, prompted enthusiastically (and bribed with more candy), climbed back down the chute.  But the mechanism makes it more difficult to exit the system than to enter, so he got stuck.  It proved only a brief hiccup, however, as his was far enough down by that point that his mother could pull him out the rest of the way.

So the funny story ended happily, with Noah wanting to go back in as soon as he came out.  In the drama of the moment, he’d forgotten to fill his pockets to the brim with assorted bulk candy and toys.

I was pretty skeptical, for a lot of reasons, when I heard that camel’s milk chocolate bars were becoming available. Maybe I need to get out more, but I’d never heard of people drinking camel’s milk, much less making confectionary delights. So I did some digging around to see if anyone else had heard of this crazy phenomenon and I realized why I hadn’t heard of it. Camel’s milk is widely used in the Middle East, a place I rarely visit (aka,have never been to), but not in many other places. That makes sense, I guess. That’s where the camels are.

When you need milk, and don’t have any cows around, you gotta get it form somewhere, right? So, I figured it was a lesser product but that the people were just getting by with what they have. I was wrong. Camel’s milk is actually better than cow’s milk! Here are the top reasons I found for why camel’s milk beats cow’s milk.

First of all, let’s get the most important question out of the way. Does it taste good? You can throw away all the other questions if no one can stomach the stuff. But all reports seem to be very positive! It’s milder than goat’s milk and free of the allergens that cow’s milk can have. Disclaimer: I haven’t tasted it for myself (yet), but am on the lookout for it locally.

Now that that’s out of the way, here are other great reasons to consider camel’s milk a viable product for chocolate or any other food or beverage concoction. It’s healthier than cow’s milk. It’s high in vitamin C, low in fat and won’t curdle in your stomach like some other milks. It’s considered to be the closest thing to mother’s milk!

No chemicals are added either, which is especially appealing in the days of cow hormones. I found out that since camel’s milk is already so rich in calcium, iron and vitamin C, it doesn’t need any nutritional assistance to be super healthy. It’s considered to be a more humane process than cow’s milk too.

So now that you’re all read up on camel’s milk, you should be more than ready to try the camel milk chocolate bar. It looks like they are readily available in the UAE. We are currently looking into US distributors so that we can get some free ones for our staff add them to our bulk candy inventory asap.

First, let me say that The Candy Buffet Company does amazing work. They are based in Australia, so we have not had the pleasure of working with them yet. But after reading the recent blog from Claire, I went to check out their website. It’s stunning. They are taking candy buffets to a whole new level. Check it out if you’re looking for a candy buffet company down under or if you just want to be inspired by their creations.

Now back to the point. Yes these confectionary displays are great. It’s one of the most remembered features of any wedding. People stand in awe of the buffet table and can’t wait to dig in. But you must stop them, because although the bulk candy buffet is a stunner, it can ruin your wedding reception if it’s not done right.

Some of the advice Claire gives includes having a plan for when the candy runs out, and it will run out quickly. She goes into very specific detail about when you should make the buffet available to your guests and why. Think about how much you are paying for the dinner. Do you want them to be full on candy before they are served? She talks about placement of the buffet and consideration for the layout of the event. But the most genious advice she gives is about creating a reveal for the candy buffet that is both dramatic and strategic in nature. I won’t steal her thunder, check out the blog post for yourself.

Many couples are hiring companies to design and build candy buffets at their wedding. It makes sense, if you can squeeze it into your budget. There are so many candy options out there and infinite design themes and accents. Where do even begin? That’s why having a candy buffet company can be very helpful.

So if you’re in Australia, look these guys up. If not, have your buffet planner take a look at their website at least. They are doing things with bulk candy that are raising the bar everywhere.

How could a piece of candy or a lollipop encourage kids to smoke pot? Well, the candies are all shaped like marijuana leaves, for one thing. The gummy candies are little, plump green marijuana leaves and the lollipops look like a pot leaf on a stick. They are also packaged in bags that have a picture of a young man (or boy, you could argue) with a joint in his mouth. He’s smiling and raising his hand in a peace sign. He is a cartoon character and the graphics on the package are cartoonish in nature as well.

Yup, that sounds pretty much like a marijuana themed product targeted at kids. If you think so too, we’re not the only ones. Anti-drug activists and parents everywhere are up in arms about these products’ availability in stores where children visit.

The creator of these pot candies claims that they promote the legalization of marijuana, a plant whose medicinal qualities have made it legal for those with a prescription. In addition to the cartoon pot smoking boy, the packaging of these candies also has the word “Legalize” in big letters. There is a movement to legalize marijuana for everyone, but it has not gained much traction with lawmakers as of yet.

Perhaps it was not his intention to promote the illegal use of marijuana. But to overlook the potential for these products to do just that is at best naïve. If I were a company who wanted to promote the use of marijuana to young people, I’m not sure how you could create a product the would be more suited to doing so than candy. And then sell it in corner shops.

I’m not saying this company has any intention other than to create a controversy for publicity sake. But all intentions aside, if you ask yourself “does this product have the potential to promote drug use among children”, you are lying if you say it does not. Straight up.

Here are the owner of that company’s words from a quote in the Huffington Post. “We don’t advocate for a political position. We just look at what the marketplace wants and respond to it. It’s just candy… It’s sour apple flavor, it doesn’t claim to be pot in disguise or anything like that.”

How much you wanna bet this guy doesn’t have kids?

(AP Photo/David Duprey)

Most candy buffets are rainbow colored bulk candy extravaganzas straight out of Willy Wonkas factory and into your event. What struck us about this dessert and candy buffet table designed by The Social Event Company of Southern California is the polished style and subtle extravagance.

The color choice actually goes completely against what most candy buffets strive to exude. You could call it a brown candy buffet, but that doesn’t begin to do justice to the nuances of the creation you see above. Take note of the complimentary tones of brown among the different candy and props on the table. They work well with each other, but don’t risk blending together in such a way that could make a brown dessert table seem bland.

Texture is a big reason for that. All the decorations from the centerpiece truck to the film box on the right have a classy trim of sophistication that is appealing to the eye. The camera and old school clock give it a period piece feel and combine with the rest of the arrangement to create a more gender neutral candy buffet than one normally comes across. Take heed grooms, not all candy buffets are pink and purple.

It’s not all radical planning though. There are a few basic tenets that are essential for a candy buffet (or any party arrangement) and they are present here as well. The biggest one is symmetry. Though this buffet is not exactly 100% symmetrical, that’s not what a great candy buffet looks to achieve. What you want is a general sense of symmetry combined with a felling of abundance. That abundant feel is created by skewing the symmetry just a bit, to invoke the idea: there’s just not enough room on this table for all this candy!

And that’s another really important aspect of a great candy buffet table. It doesn’t matter how big or small the actual table is, but you gotta fill it up as much as you can. Empty space takes away from the abundance and leaves guests wondering if the hosts could not afford another bag of bulk M&Ms.

Great job by all involved on this one. You can see more pics of this at the Sweet Designs website by Amy Atlas.

Joshua Ryan Photography.