Design Easter Baskets That Truly Hop

Spring may not have sprung yet, but retailers are springing into action to market their Easter candy selection. And with good reason – the National Retail Federation reported that 89% of Americans’ planned Easter purchases were candy in 2021 – the highest of all categories. And where is that candy going you might ask? Simple — in Easter baskets. 66% of parents make their kids Easter baskets, with 60% of those parents even sending baskets to their kids who don’t live at home (Insider). In the age of social media, simply throwing things in a basket isn’t going to cut it. Get a jump (or hop) on the competition – educate customers on how to make their Easter basket presentation a slam dunk.

We polled our design egg-sperts for their top tips to take baskets from so-so to egg-ceptional!

• Level up with Different levels – Get their eyes jumping around like peter cotton tail — place items at different

It’s a new year! Time to take stock of your stock! Whether you’re new to the game, or been in the food business for some time, the slow down after the post holiday rush is a great time to evaluate your inventory and plan for the new year.

New year also means new you! Time to expand, or brush up on your purchasing knowledge. We polled our buying experts for their top purchasing tips and tricks sure to make your candy selection the best on the block.

Saturday, November 27th might be ‘Small Business Saturday’, but we think small businesses are a BIG deal every day.

Read on to uncover the major impact small businesses have on their local communities and why we ♥️ supporting small and local.

Today (November 4) is National Candy Day! Well, that news really brightens the day, doesn’t it!

In celebration we’re examining the colorful side of candy. Did you know color is as important as flavor when consumers are selecting candy?

This isn’t a trick. Early predictions say Halloween 2021 will be all treats. Particularly when it comes to candy sales. According Progressive Grocer, consumers are amping up holiday celebrations to make up for lost time during 2020, so Halloween is tracking to be the biggest ever. Online search volume for the term “Halloween” is up to 328,500 searches per week which is high for this time of year analytics platform, Trendalytics reports. What these numbers tell us is customers are hunting early for items to make their Halloween spooktacular. Halloween simply wouldn’t be Halloween without plenty of chocolate.

Holidays aside, 2020 made chocolate an all-around best seller, with the National Confectioners Association reporting $21.9B in chocolate sales. Chocolate sales continue to stay high into 2021, according to Candy & Snack Today.

Now, we know customers are going to be drawn to the Halloween chocolate classics, but this year is a mega celebration! Help your customers

2020 changed a lot of things — including consumers’ perception of private label food products. Once seen as inferior copycats of national brands, private label is now viewed as a gateway to affordable, restaurant-grade foods to enjoy at home. The prospect of private label is even more appealing when home cooking trends continue to soar. Right now private label is experiencing a renaissance, with Nielsen reporting a 16.1% sales increase year-to-date through Aug. 1, 2020 totaling $17.9 billion (Specialty Food Association).

Don’t think this passion for private label is merely a 2020 phenomenon. Even in 2019 market