MARCH 2012 Vol. 92, No. 3 MANUFACTURING CONFECTIONER GLOBAL SOURCE FOR CHOCOLATE, CONFECTIONERY AND BISCUIT INFORMATION SWISS CONFECTIONERY INDUSTRY ACIDS IN CONFECTIONS RCI 2012 EVENTS SWEETS & SNACKS PREVIEW RCI Spring Regional Institute Retail Confectioners International will host its 2012 spring regional event in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida. www.retailconfectioners.org Monday, April 16 Arrival, Board Meeting Wednesday, April 17 Education Day and Optional Tour Day and Candy Clinic Optional tour day. See optional tour day activities at 7:30 AM –2:00 PM Registration desk open retailconfectioners.org/regionals 8:00 AM –8:45 AM Welcome buffet breakfast 8:00 AM 10:00 AM Executive Board Meeting with working 9:00 AM –9:45 AM Education Session: The Power of Email breakfast Marketing with Constant Contact. Discover how com- 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Board of Directors Strategic Planning municating with your customers regularly through email Session and Board Meeting with working lunch marketing can help you stay connected, and generate in- creased referrals, repeat sales and unwavering customer Tuesday, April 17 Committee loyalty. Pamela Starr from Constant Contact will pres- Meetings and Education Day ent a seminar on creating valuable email content and 8:00 AM –11:00 AM Board of Directors Meeting email lists to help drive your business success. 11:00 AM –3:00 PM Committee Meetings 10:00 AM –10:45 AM Education Session: Crisis Communi- Lunch on one’s own cations and Media Relations Crisis communications and 1:30 PM –5:00 PM Registration desk open media relations for businesses are especially important in 2:00 PM Tour Bus Captain Orientation an era when crafting a message is crucial to the success of 3:00 PM –3:45 PM Education Session: Succession Planning a business. Speaker Joel Doepker, director of communica- and How to Prepare for the Future of Your Business tions and marketing for Ozarks Technical Community Kendall Rawls knows and understands the challenges that College, will share tips that business owners can use to deal impact the success of a family-owned business. Her with the media to turn potential negative news into a pos- unique perspective comes from her educational back- itive experience. ground and from her experience as a second-generation 11:00 AM –11:45 AM Education Session: Interventions for family-member employee of the Rawls Group, a nation- Producing Safe Products Known for their food-safety ally recognized business succession planning firm spe- education and training, Silliker Labs will share practical cializing in the dynamics of a family-owned business. In steps to ensure good manufacturing practices (GMPs) this session, learn how you can begin planning for the fu- within confectionery facilities. Presenter Susan Moyers, ture of your business. PhD, is a food and nutrition professional with more than 4:00 PM –4:45 PM Education Session: Succession Planning 20 years of experience in the field of public health, nutri- Roundtable In this new session format, attendees will have tion and education. She is an SQF- certified consultant the opportunity to apply what they have just learned in the and trainer, a HACCP consultant and trainer, and a li- previous presentation. Table groups will be given a differ- censed dietician who will outline the foundations of a ent problematic scenario related to succession planning. GMP program based on current regulations. Starting with After coming up with a solution for their given problem, basic employee hygiene practices, attendees will learn how each group will share it with the rest of the attendees while personal hygiene, work attire, eating and drinking, and Rawls serves as the moderator and provides her profes- plant traffic patterns impact food safety. sional insight into each scenario. 11:45 AM –2:00 PM Candy Clinic setup 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Suppliers Tell-n-Sell Welcome Recep- Lunch on one’s own tion. Hosted bar and hors d’oeuvres. 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM Education Session: Cross-Contamina- 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Next Generation Event. Mixer for RCI tion: More than the Usual Suspects Susan Moyers will members in their twenties and thirties. continue her presentation to include practical steps con- 9:00 PM RCI Hospitality Suite fectioners can take to avoid microbial cross-contamination The Manufacturing Confectioner • March 2012 31 RCI Spring Regional Event Wednesday, April 18 (continued) Thursday, April 19 Tour Day and Banquet in food-production facilities. She will outline how to avoid 7:00 AM –7:45 AM Registration desk open transferring harmful microorganisms to finished products. 7:00 AM –8:00 AM Buffet breakfast Her examples of how microbial cross-contamination can 8:00 AM Buses leave for off-site tours occur as a result of improper traffic patterns, poor personal • Peterbrooke Chocolates production center — Estab- hygiene, and unsanitized tools and equipment will em- lished in 1983 by Phyllis Lockwood-Geiger, Peterbrooke phasize how critical GMPs are to all manufacturers. Chocolates has grown to a franchise operation offering 2:00 PM Candy Clinic followed by Kettle Talk Forum chocolate-covered cookies, pretzels, frozen truffles, pop- Open only to RCI members corn and other confections to their customers. Atten- dees will tour the 4,500 sq. ft. production plant where Candy Clinic: Are you looking for practical ideas to im- the chocolates are made for the company and owned plement in your store? Do you have a clever idea that has stores. The adjoining 1,500 sq. ft. retail space showcases worked well in your business? You’re invited to share it. the final products. This session will give you creative ideas for your shop as • Anheuser Busch brewery tour — Attendees will experi- fellow candymakers give a short presentation of their ence firsthand how Budweiser beer is brewed and packaged ideas including samples and handouts to take home. at the Florida production facility. The tour includes a short film and tour about the history of the company with tours Kettle Talk Forum: From basic to advanced, the panel of of the kitchen where the foundation of the beer is created, confectioners will answer questions about the fine art of fermentation tanks, beechwood aging area, packaging making confections and all that the process entails. lines, view of the brewery area and display of all the beers Dinner on one’s own they make on-site. The tour ends with a stop in the gift shop and tasting room with a variety of beer and other 9:00 PMHospitality Suite hosted by RCI board president refreshments for all ages. Lunch at River City Restaurant, Jacksonville’s premier riverfront restaurant on the downtown’s Southbank over- looking St. John’s River and the city skyline. • The 3 Sisters Chocolate & Bakery is known as Jack- sonville’s best bakery, featuring gourmet cupcakes, spe- cialty sculpted cakes, their “Gooey-to-Die-For Chocolate Covered Brownie” and wedding cakes along with choco- late pizzas, chocolates and truffles. This unique bakery and confectionery shop offers other local food products in their retail store. • Sweet Pete’s All Natural Sweets — Peter Behringer, one of the namesakes of Peterbrooke Chocolates, helped to grow that business with his sister, Brooke, and his mom, Phyllis. Having established a well-known reputation in the industry, they sold the company, and, after the sale, Peter started his own candy company, Sweet Pete’s. Set in a wacky and whimsical house, Sweet Pete’s focuses on providing pure, simple sweets made with real cane sugar and natural flavors. Their signature items include soft, sea salt caramels, all-natural lollipops and assorted can- dies, and gourmet chocolates. 4:00 PM Buses return to the hotel (travel times are approximate) 6:00 PM Evening Reception 7:00 PM Awards Banquet Celebrate the highlights of the regional event with the people and businesses who have For appointments please HANS BRUNNER GmbH R contact Aida Morelli H a n s - B r u n n e r - S t r . 1 welcomed us into their companies and shared their love M o b i l e : + 4 9 ( 0 ) 1 6 0 / 9 9 1 3 4 2 8 8 85625 Glonn/Germany E - Mail: [email protected] www.hansbrunner.de Schokoladenformen www.brunnershop.com Chocolate Moulds of the confectionery industry. The evening features store awards and live entertainment. 32 March 2012 • The Manufacturing Confectioner RCI Spring Regional Event Friday, April 20 Tour Day of St. Augustine 7:00 AM –7:45 AM Registration desk open 7:00 AM –8:00 AM Buffet breakfast ! ! ! 8:00 AM Buses leave for off-site tours V • Whetstone Chocolates — First known for their fudge, the Whetstone family expanded their products to fine chocolates in the 1960s. They continue to edu- cate consumers about chocolate, its growth, harvesting and production. Then, they educate consumers’ palates to the varieties of chocolate. Today, they are focused on adding unique and exciting artisan choco- • All Stainless Steel lates to their classic collection of fine chocolates at • Spring loaded agitator their production facility and three retail stores. • Digital Temperature controls • St. George Street. Enjoy a self-guided walking tour of his- • Tilts to mix or pour toric St. George Street and visit these sweet shop stops: • Batch capacity to 25lb • Savannah Sweets specializes in Southern candy, pecan • Cooling capability candies, chocolate pralines, fudge and divinity. • PLC Touch Screen controls • Whetstone Chocolates welcomes attendees to their second retail store. • Tedi’s Olde Thyme Ice Cream — Henry and Esther Whetstone first opened their small ice cream store on St. George Street in 1966. The parlor quickly devel- oped a reputation for serving the best ice cream in town. Today, this original store remains a part of the Whetstone Chocolates experience.