Kimmie Candy Company

A while back our CEO got the chance to glue Sunbursts all over himself for the local trade magazine Edible Reno-Tahoe. The article gives a very nice description of the companies history and current operations. They refer to Joe as the Willy Wonka of Reno. Not a bad description with his eagerness to introduce locals and travelers to our facility and candy. I do kinda resent being indirectly referred to as an oompa loompa but, whatever. At least he didn’t force his employees to pick off all the Sunbursts. He’s pretty cool that way.

Here is an entertaining clip from Joes latest CNBC appearance. Always an advocate for small businesses, here he throws his experience into banter over the Fed, interest rates, and the feeble economy. Just bear through the mandatory ad at the beginning.

We were a sponsor recently for the 2011 Rock ‘n River Children’s Marathon. The race is 1.2 miles through downtown Reno, and our mascot Sun E. Seed showed up to participate. I’ll bet it was nice and warm in that outfit. Kimmie Candy Company supports the natural inclination of kids to be active, outdoors and perpetually learning.

Have you ever sat down and finally watched a movie that you had been avoiding? Only to discover that is was great. This is how I was with the ChocoAlmonds. When I first started working here at Kimmie Candy Company I noticed the ChocoRocks and Sunbursts were the all out favorites for most everyone. The ChocoAlmonds were popular but didn’t have the fan base of other products. I assumed they were inferior. Boy was I wrong. Now that I’m a fan, I’ve been giving samples to everyone I know. So far, no one has tried them without loving them. Besides being delicious, they are classy enough for formal occassions. We have people buying Choco Almonds to match their wedding, or shower colors. Some use them for school parties, matching their school colors. Others don’t care what they look like, they just love the taste (like me). Wherever you might sit on the spectrum, you gotta give them a try.

We are having a sale on them for the next two months at our online shop. 25% off all almond products, and of course we have a large array of colors, individual and holiday. Or, if you’re in Reno some time, swing by our gift shop.

Joe was invited back on CNBC to lend his voice to the discussion regarding slow economy, rising gas prices, foreign unrest and government shutdown. How does chocolate fit into the discussion? Watch the video and satiate your curiosity.

Here is a video from a while back that profiles chocolate futures on CNBC. Joe Dutra, a mastermind of the candy biz and the Captain of our factory, gets to add his experienced voice to the mix. It’s tongue in cheek, like we like it. If you can’t have fun with chocolate, then you might be missing the point of it.

Mark Dobie moderates the blog SugarPressure.com. As an aficionado of candy we consider his opinion to be substantial and in this case flattering. His review of the Habanero Kettle Corn Nuggets is a worthy read for whoever feels the inclination to follow his link. Here is his review of Sunbursts in its entirety sans the great photos he posts.

After reviewing the Habanero Kettle Corn Nuggets that the Kimmie Candy Company sent me, I moved on to their Sunbursts candy. In the past few years, it seems that chocolate covered sunflower seeds have begun to show up in nearly every gas station or truck stop. I’ve seen several companies that make a similar candy to Kimmie’s Sunbursts, but I like the colors of Kimmie’s best. Often, the candy coating on this type of candy is in shades of “fall”…muted and brown with some green and red.  To me, those colors aren’t very appetizing.  But here, I like both the color scheme and the name; Sunbursts makes you think of sunflower seeds and the colors of this candy “BURST” out at you.

When I mentioned this product to friends, a lot of them asked me why someone would cover sunflowers seeds with candy coating and chocolate. I’d always answer the same…that someone in the past probably said that about peanuts, but look how popular peanut M&Ms are now. The candy coating on this candy is great, the chocolate is tasty and I love sunflower seeds, so that nutty sunflower flavor is fantastic. I liked the corn nuggets but wasn’t addicted to them. I was very addicted to this candy!  But, even with a serving size of half a tube, I couldn’t eat that many in a row. I like these as an alternative to peanut M&Ms. Sunflower seeds always remind me of summer and that’s something I love thinking about with winter almost over in the snowy tundra that is the Midwest. I’m also telling myself that these are good for me because they contain sunflower seeds, I’m sure there’s some science out there that can back up my claim, right?

Everyone in our family really enjoyed these. (This is the first candy I’ve let our one year old taste.  He couldn’t get enough of them and they were a super size for him.)  I love the colors, the container and the taste.  This candy has me wondering how cashews would taste covered in chocolate, then covered in candy coating.  I can’t think of a product like that…maybe Kimmie could do that next!
Taste: 4/5 Really Liked It

http://www.sugarpressure.com

We received a pleasant note from a happy customer who found a practical use for ChocoRocks and gave several of our serving military men and women a nice taste of home. Thanks for the kind words Angie, and especially thanks to our brave soldiers for all you do.

To CEO of Kimmie Candy,

A couple of years ago I bought some choco rocks at the Winco store in Vacaville CA. My shopping bags tipped over on the ride home, scattering my groceries all over the back of my car.  I gathered my items and took them inside but missed the bag of rocks.  I found them 2 days later–105 degrees, in a locked car parked in the sun–still intact.  I sent rocks to my Air Force daughters at tech school at Lackland Air Force Base TX . No melting!!

The next step was sending baggies of rocks in care packages to Iraq. . All other chocolate products–even power bars–ended up as a nasty brown soup.

One of my co-workers had a Marine brother in Iraq last year and I adopted the entire unit. Weekly boxes of goodies and always a bag of rocks in each box.  The Marine wanted to personally thank me when he returned home, but confided in his brother that he thought I was a bit odd because I kept sending bags of aquarium rocks.  “They’re pretty, but we don’t need rocks, so we just tossed ‘em”.  I presented him with a fishbowl filled with “choco rocks” at our meeting.  One taste and his face lit up. He was happily munching when his expression suddenly changed. “My guys are gonna kill me when they find out we were throwing this good stuff away all summer!!!”.  PRICELESS.

Now I include a little note with the bags of Choco Rocks when I send  care packages to the troops. They love them and I buy it by the case at Winco.

Many deployed Marines, Soldiers and Airmen are already enjoying them again this summer, and next month a battalion of local Army National Guard soldiers will deploy to Iraq.  I will provide each of them with a small baggie of rocks as they wait to board the plane to the sandbox.

Thanks for making a tasty, fun product that puts a smile on the faces of my beloved warriors.

Angie-Vacaville, CA

[Edit - July 2011]

Another story about the rocks–

Last Saturday I was invited to a formal promotion ceremony by General Currier. The main “Rock distributor” in Iraq was promoted to Sergeant Major, the highest NCO rank. This is not an event that involves gifts.

However, after being greeted and hugged by my troops, the man of the hour whispered in my ear “Did you bring rocks?” Yes I did. Big glass cookie jar full of them!

Joe, my Soldiers still see the rocks as a symbol of fun,comfort and love from home.

Angie Lindberg