Reflections on Rock Radio and Candy Assortments
Driving to work one morning this fall, I tuned in to
my favorite music radio station, WXRT, in time to hear the morning drive DJ
delivering an impassioned explanation of why the station did not embrace the concept of a
pre-programmed musical play list. As a non-techie, I don’t understand
how all of this works. But I picked up enough to comprehend that he was
talking about the technology that allows listeners to have a digital
readout of a song and/or artist pop up on their car radio display panel and
why it wasn’t possible for the station.
He explained that in order to make that happen, WXRT
would have to pre-program the songs to be played each day into a massive
computer database, eliminating the process of having songs spontaneously
selected by DJs. Listening to the morning drive personality, my thoughts
turned quickly to—what else but?—candy! The concept of a
varied, eclectic musical selection became a metaphor to me for a varied,
eclectic candy assortment. For the record, I believe in both.
Of course, retailers need to stock the Top 20 candy
bar SKUs, but if they never take a chance by adding a new gourmet
concoction or a whimsical novelty item, the candy category loses vitality
and energy—and ultimately, sales.
The key, of course, is to take a chance on the right
new products, and it’s our mission to support our retail readers in
that endeavor by delivering the kind of relevant industry news and trends
that allow for informed decision-making.
On that note, I will underscore a couple of things
that jumped out at me in this year’s Chocolate Report, which you will
find beginning on page 26. One is the advent of some truly fun and creative
products targeting women, who represent chocolate’s core
constituency. Another trend the report identifies is the increasing
popularity of dark chocolate among premium chocolate purchasers. You can
just bet this trend will be trickling down to more mainstream brands in the
months ahead.
Distributor of the Year Recognition
Also this month, I’d like to extend my sincere
congratulations to Confectioner’s first Distributor of the Year award recipient, Sulphur
Springs, Texas-based Grocery Supply Co. Vendors nominated GSC for the
recognition, paying tribute to the company’s consistently high levels
of customer service and ethical business practices. With a network of more
than 5,000 convenience store clients located primarily in the Southern and
Midwest states, GSC bills itself as “big enough for the job, small
enough to care,” and then proceeds to live up to that claim.
