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| Photo credit: (from left to right) Cristopher Rodriguez, Alex Yosifov, Patrick Doheny, Flickr |
Sweetest
Day takes place on the third Saturday in October. While the holiday is more
significant for candy makers in the Great Lakes region (Buffalo, Cleveland and
Detroit being the biggest Sweetest Day cities), the holiday is gaining in
popularity throughout the country every year. Some RCI members even report
sales from Sweetest Day exceeding Mothers Day!
The
history dates back to 1922 when Herbert Birch Kingston, a candy maker from
Cleveland, decided to give candy and small gifts to the city’s orphans and
people confined to their homes, all who are often forgotten and neglected. With
the help of his friends and neighbors, he distributed these small remembrances
on a Saturday in October. For years to follow, other Clevelanders began to
participate in the tradition, which came to be known as "Sweetest Day.”
In
time, the idea of spreading cheer to the underprivileged broadened to include everyone
from family and significant others to coworkers and acquaintances with a kind act
or a small remembrance. With a little help from movie stars in the 1930s, the
idea quickly spread to other cities all over the country.
Sweetest
Day is not based on any single group’s religious sentiment or on a family relationship.
It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it
meaning.
For many people, remembering
takes the form of gift-giving. For this reason, Sweetest Day offers an unique
opportunity to offer all kinds of gift items. Falling midway between Father's
Day in June and Christmas in December, Sweetest Day provides an occasion for
the opening of fall merchandising programs and the promotion of various
products, not the least of which is candy and boxed chocolate. |
| Bon Bon Bon of Hamtramck, Michigan to build World's Longest Box of Chocolates for Sweetest Day. |
Bon Bon Bon of Hamtramck, Michigan created buzz by announcing plans to build the World’s Longest Box of Chocolate in celebration of Sweetest Day. Click here to read article covered by MLive Media Group.
Other Ideas to
Promote Sweetest Day
- Remind customers when talking
with them of the coming of Sweetest Day.
- Let your local newspaper know
about Sweetest Day and what preparations your business has made to help
customers celebrate it.
- Be prepared to explain Sweetest
Day and to make suggestions regarding appropriate gifts, keeping in mind
that the possibilities are limitless.
- Create a prominent display of merchandise for Sweetest Day.
