Jun 14, 2009

Sweet sales: Comfort food indulgences going strong for candy retailersBy Shelley WidhalmReporterHerald.com

Loveland resident Janie Ritchie wants chocolate to get a larger space in the food guide pyramid than the “use sparingly” top layer of fats, oils and sweets.

Ritchie told this to Ida Suppes, owner of Sunny Jim’s Candy Ranch in Loveland, as she and her husband Jim stopped in Thursday for malted milk balls and chocolate haystacks, a couple of her favorite chocolate treats.

Ritchie comes to Suppes’ store for a product she says is consistently good and not waxy like cheaper chocolate.

“It’s just a feel-good thing,” Ritchie said. “Chocolate always does good in recession times. It’s like liquor. It makes you feel good.”

Suppes, who sells 260 varieties of chocolates and candies in her candy and gift shop at 5431 W. U.S. 34, says business has been good despite the economy, though December sales were down.

“By Valentine’s Day, we were back up,” Suppes said. “I heard that even during the Depression way back when, candy sales were still up. People felt like it was a luxury they could afford.”

Nationwide, the confectioner’s industry is growing as candy and chocolate become a comfort and treat in economic hard times, according to the National Confectioners Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association of the confectionery industry.

The confectionery industry posted a 2.7 percent gain for the one-year period ending April 19, the date of the All Candy Expo, from the previous year, the association reported.

“Three percent might not seem like a huge increase. It’s notable just because of the fact we’re moving along with slow and steady sales growth,” said Susan Whiteside, spokeswoman for the National Confectioner’s Association.

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