Hello candy world! My name is Crystal Lindell and I’m the new associate editor for Candy Industry magazine. I’ll be overseeing the Retail Confectioner section, while also contributing to the weekly e-newsletter.   

Yesterday, I received a “screener” copy of the DVD, “Kings of  Pastry,” a documentary that focuses on Jacquy Pfeiffer’s quest to capture the Meillerus Ouvriers de France (MOF), that country’s most prestigious award for food professionals.The timing couldn’t have been better since this morning I went to visit Cacao Barry L’art du Chocalatier Challenge competition, which was being sponsored by Barry Callebaut and held at its Chocolate Academy right here in Chicago.

Chances are many readers of this newsletter won’t recognize the name Gbagbo. After all, it’s not as if the Ivory Coast’s former president is a household name, even amongst chocolate makers and chocolatiers.

I have to admit, upon walking into Miroljub Aleksic’s office, I was immediately impressed. Now mind you, I’m not one to be that easily wowed by trappings of power. But not only was the size of the oval office (and yes, that’s not a coincidence) overwhelming, but the art that was hanging on the wall proved even more spectacular. 

The end of 2010 is almost upon us, which means we’re headed into the busiest season of the year for retail confectioners. 

Will chocolate be worth its weight in gold? Will this wonderful food of the gods become a luxury only the high priests of finance can afford, something akin to caviar? A recent article in the British newspaper, The Independent, recently speculated on the possibility of such a scenario 20 years from now.

For those of you who follow the global political scene, you might be thinking that my headline refers to the latest presidential elections in Brazil, where former Marxist guerrilla Dilma Rousseff is in a runoff against her closest rival, Jose Serra, a former mayor of Sao Paulo and one of the county’s most experienced politicians.

I should have bought those Star Trek PEZ Dispensers the day I laid eyes on them. It was last fall, and I was in World Market. 

Twizzlers or Red Vines? Never has a confectionery question so divided the masses. While researching this month’s licorice trends feature, I took an unscientific poll of my co-workers and Facebook friends regarding their preferences and was bombarded with responses.

When Mars Chocolate North America launched the M&M’S Pretzel earlier this year, I’m sure there were consumers out there who wondered what took them so long. After all, it’s not like rocket science.