chocolate

February’s almost here. Forget about Valentine’s Day. There’s a bigger love to celebrate this month – our love of chocolate!

February is National Chocolate Lovers Month.

Celebrations aren’t just reserved for at home. In-store celebrations and merchandising for Chocolate Lovers Month creates some great upsell opportunities.

Every-BUNNY knows that Easter is synonymous with candy. But did you know that candy is the TOP way people plan to celebrate? 90% of us plan to purchase and celebrate with candy, to be exact (National Retail Federation).

While candy is at the top of the Easter guest list, there are ways to use candy to make your celebrations EGG-stra special.

We polled our EGG-sperts, and here are their top tips to make your Easter EGG-ceptional.

Home is where the heart is AND where the snacks are made! Homemade snacks are still holding strong with 17% of consumers making them (National Confectioners Association). And with major business hubs like New York City only reporting 50% of workers back in the office, the homemade trend is sure to continue (CNBC). But lives are getting busier. Help make their homemade snacks a home run with premium ingredients and mix-ins that cut down the prep time.

When it comes to confections, chocolate is king.

Chocolate sales totaled 16.7 billion in 2021 — the highest of any confectionery category (National Confectioner’s Association)! Milk Chocolate even has a national day dedicated in its honor (this year that’s July 28)! It’s true —we all love chocolate. But are you familiar with the major terms in chocolate making? Having a better understanding of how chocolate is made can help you to better direct customers to their chocolate favorites, while also serving up reasons to try new items, too.

Time to mold your mind – read on for the top terms to know related to chocolate making.

We all joke that since chocolate is made from plants, it’s salad which = not indulgent, but did you know that for a long time chocolate was touted and as medicine? While we don’t recommend tearing through your medicine chest and switching out everything for chocolate bars, little bits of trivia like this could be the remedy to attracting new customers during the slower months post holidays.

Everyone loves feeling like they’re “in the know,” having knowledge about something their friends and family do not. That’s why trivia nights and trivia apps are so popular! Knowing fun, obscure facts about chocolate not only positions your business the fun place to be, but you and your staff as knowledgeable in the products you sell. As part of your marketing activities, consider posing a weekly trivia question that visitors can answer in store, or via email in hopes of winning a discount on a product or, a free sample of a product you’re trying to promote. OR for something simpler, incorporate

The votes are in — chocolate has been crowned America’s leading confection. While we don’t see its fan following fizzling out anytime soon, the best way for chocolate to maintain its position in confectionery royalty, and you to keep racking up the chocolate sales, is by keeping it fresh (in more ways than one). The best way to keep it fresh — incorporating the latest trending flavors and ingredients.