Articles by Alyse Thompson

As the premium chocolate division of Mars, Inc., Ethel M emphasizes its tradition of creating handmade and preservative-free confections. However, over the last two years the brand has looked for ways to “reposition itself” and make new connections, Young says.

A Nestlé official says a $31-million expansion to its Quality Assurance Center in Dublin, Ohio, will help the company continue to anticipate and exceed food quality and safety standards.

Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has joined forces with the International Finance Corp. (IFC) and IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, for a $9-million, risk-sharing program that will help small cocoa farmers in Cote d’Ivoire lay the foundation for a strong financial future.

I was working as a staff writer at a newspaper in Western Illinois when I learned earlier this summer that former Managing Editor Crystal Lindell was moving to a new position at Food Engineering. I jumped at the chance to once more join the Candy Industry team - for a variety of reasons.

In the fifth edition of “Food Gifting in the U.S.,” Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, reports that 28 percent of consumers gave boxed chocolates and candies to someone else in the last 12 months.

The American Association of Candy Technologists (AACT) recently announced Hannah Vezzetti, a senior at Delaware Valley University, as the recipient of the 2016-2017 John Kitt Memorial Scholarship. The association gives the $5,000 award to aspiring candy technologists. 

For the residents of Tuscola, Ill., stepping into Flesor’s Candy Kitchen feels like going back in time.

In a way, sliding fruits and nuts between two slabs of chocolate is just like spreading peanut butter and jelly between two slices of bread.

For Phyllis LeBlanc, hand dipping chocolates at Harbor Sweets meant more than a steady paycheck during her time at Salem State College — it was an exercise in what would become her future.