Koch’s entry into the confectionery goes back 43 years, when he was attending Notre Dame High School in 1973.

On July 14, 2014, when the Lindt & Sprüngli Group announced that it was acquiring Russell Stover Candies, the news raised some eyebrows within the U.S. chocolate market.

"It was clear that Thompson Chocolate’s core go-to-market principal was the delivery of a quality product that was made with all-natural chocolate," Dunkin says. "Our niche was in the more premium segment. We were not the low-cost producer in the chocolate novelty segment. We weren’t going to compete on price like compound chocolate products."

Pfluger cited the fact that there’s a Midwestern attitude at the Russell Stover's; one that’s grounded in substance, one where people value content over noise.

Although not quite as popular as chocolate, chewy candy still commanded close to $3.3 billion in dollar sales in the 52 weeks ending March 20, 2016, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.

After my wife had filled her specially bought baby shower bag with appropriate, ever-so-cute babywear, she turned to me and said it would be nice to drop in some chocolate. Naturally, I said, “Sure.”

Today, Ethereal Confections offers such bean-to-bar offerings as Sweet Basil and Cherry Blossom, Black Cherry Lemonade and Blood Orange and Vanilla Bean in addition to 30 truffle varieties and a half-dozen desserts, all made on the premises.

Many, many years ago, in a neighborhood now known as Bucktown in Chicago, there was this scrawny kid trolling the streets for pop bottles. You see, back then, retailers would give two cents for every bottle. Collect six bottles and you’ve got yourself 12 cents, a virtual fortune.

Blommer Chocolate, FlavorChem, and more!