Best of Christmas: Top Christmas Posts from the RCI Blog

This “most wonderful time of the year” is officially here! We’re sharing a holiday-inspired compilation of tips and inspiration to help make this holiday season your merriest yet! 

10 Ways to Feature Candy Canes this Christmas

What better way to celebrate the holidays than with candy canes? These classic red and white striped treats are a staple of Christmas and can be used in a variety of ways to add a festive touch to your confectionery creations. In this blog post, we share 10 creative and easy ideas for incorporating candy canes into your product mix and presentation for the holidays. Read more.

Stand Out with Instagram-Worthy Holiday Treats

How Instagram-worthy are your holiday treats? Social media, like Instagram and Facebook, have proven to be effective tools for reaching consumers, however if A.) you’re not sharing photos of your products on your social media sites daily or B.) they don’t stand out from other holiday gifts, you could be missing out on a massive opportunity to gain new customers this season. Click here to snag creative ideas to transform some of your potentially existing treats (like chocolate-covered cookies and rice cereal treats) into new holiday favorites.

How to Sell More Stocking Stuffers

With gentle nudging, you can help ensure stockings (and your bottom line) overflow with sweetness this holiday season! Stockings stuffers are the ultimate impulse purchase, representing the opportunity to add a few extra dollars to in-store and online purchases. In post, we explore two key components that make for great stocking stuffers and how to increase sales with effective marketing and merchandising. Read more.

5 Quick & Easy Treats to Add to your Stocking Stuffer Display

Add extra dollars to in-store and online purchases by selling more stocking stuffers this holiday season. Above, we shared how to sell more stocking stuffers by identifying products that meet two key components. Next up, we’ve got five quick and easy ideas for products to beef up your stocking stuffer display. Read more. 

How to Make a Very Merry Christmas Truffle Tree

While truffles make for a sweet holiday gift, a stunning truffle tree is sure to make any Christmas celebration unforgettable! This post highlights steps to make your own truffle tree from an RCI member, plus inspiration for creating a very merry holiday showpiece. Read more.

We hope that these posts inspire you to get creative this holiday season and make it one to remember.

Crave more? Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Best of Christmas: Top Christmas Posts from the RCI Blog

 

This “most wonderful time of the year” will be here before we know it! We’re sharing a holiday-inspired compilation of tips and inspiration to help make this holiday season your merriest yet! 

Stand Out with Instagram-Worthy Holiday Treats

How Instagram-worthy are your holiday treats? Social media, like Instagram and Facebook, have proven to be effective tools for reaching consumers, however if A.) you’re not sharing photos of your products on your social media sites daily or B.) they don’t stand out from other holiday gifts, you could be missing out on a massive opportunity to gain new customers this season. Click here to snag creative ideas to transform some of your potentially existing treats (like chocolate-covered cookies and rice cereal treats) into new holiday favorites.

How to Create Your Own Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday gift guides are a visual and trendy way to promote your popular holiday items both online and in your retail store. According to a recent survey by Dynata for Redpoint Global, “nearly two-thirds of the 1,000 adult shoppers surveyed (62%), planned to do all their holiday shopping online.”

If you think you have to hire a graphic designer to create a professional gift guide, think again! In this blog post, we’ve also shared one of our favorite resources that requires zero design experience and comes with a FREE subscription option. Read more.

How to Sell More Stocking Stuffers

With gentle nudging, you can help ensure stockings (and your bottom line) overflow with sweetness this holiday season! Stockings stuffers are the ultimate impulse purchase, representing the opportunity to add a few extra dollars to in-store and online purchases. In post, we explore two key components that make for great stocking stuffers and how to increase sales with effective marketing and merchandising. Read more.

5 Quick & Easy Treats to Add to your Stocking Stuffer Display

Add extra dollars to in-store and online purchases by selling more stocking stuffers this holiday season. Above, we shared how to sell more stocking stuffers by identifying products that meet two key components. Next up, we’ve got five quick and easy ideas for products to beef up your stocking stuffer display. Read more.

We hope that these posts have inspired you to get creative this holiday season and make it one to remember.

Crave more? Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Stand Out with Instagram-Worthy Holiday Treats

How Instagram-worthy are your holiday treats?

Sure, they taste delicious, but how would a potential new customer know if they’ve never tasted your confections? No surprise, social media, like Instagram and Facebook, can be an effective tool for reaching consumers, however if A.) you’re not sharing photos of your products on your social media sites daily or B.) they don’t stand out from other holiday gifts, you could be missing out on a massive opportunity to gain new customers this season.

A study by Forbes has shown that 78% of consumers’ purchases are impacted by companies’ social media posts. So, if you’re looking for a boost in sales, consider transforming these classic confectionery treats into holiday showstoppers to help your business standout this season.

Rudolph Rice Cereal Treats by Bomboy's Home Made Candy; Mrs. Claus and Elves, Food Network; Ice Cream Cone Elves, Elf Cookies by Bearfoot Baker

Rice Cereal Treats

Cookie cutters aren't just for cookies. They also make a great tool for creating fun seasonal chocolate-covered rice cereal treats. Make the most out of your collection of cookie cutters, by repurposing common shapes to create new and unique designs. After realizing that their gingerbread man treats weren’t selling as well as other designs, Bomboy’s Home Made Candy gave the tired cookie cutter new life by turning it upside down and transforming it into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This little reindeer proved to be a hit!

Make fall and summer designs last into the holidays! If you have cookie cutters shaped like a ghost or even an ice cream cone, just flip them upside down to transform the shapes into cute elves. Did you know a pumpkin cookie cutter can be repurposed to make a jolly Mrs. Claus?

Santa Apples, Baked with Love; Mrs. Prindables Reindeer and Snowman; Reindeer with Pipe Cleaner Antlers, Design Dazzle

Caramel Apples

Traditionally a fall treat, a little creativity can help transform caramel apples into a festive holiday gift. For inspiration, mimic Santa’s jolly belly by adding his signature black belt and big gold buckle around a red caramel apple coated in red sprinkles or luster dust. Bring Frosty the Snowman to life by adding a jumbo marshmallow to the top of a caramel apple before dipping them both in white chocolate. A few chocolate chip “buttons" and a red licorice scarf will help tie it all together. Lastly, add candy eyes, a red nose and antlers, of course, to create everyone’s favorite reindeer out of a classic chocolate-covered caramel apple. There’s lots of ideas online for creating Rudolph’s antlers—from the easiest to the most realistic, you may want to try pipe cleaners, pretzel twists or sugar cookies for your antlers.

Need help perfecting your caramel apples? Check out these past blog posts for tips on making caramel stick to apples or learn why you should flip your caramel apples upside down.

 

Snowmen, Two Sisters Crafting; Gingerbread Men, Munchkin Munchies

Marshmallows

Jumbo marshmallows make a quick and easy canvas for creating holiday magic. Put three jumbo marshmallows on a stick, coat them in white chocolate and decorate to make marshmallow snowmen pops that are too sweet to pass up. Click here to watch a tutorial by Two Sisters Crafting. All you need to make adorable gingerbread marshmallow pops are, your choice of caramel-coated marshmallows or marshmallows covered in peanut butter confectioner’s coating, some piped white chocolate and tiny sugar decorations.

Nutter Butter Reindeer, Vande Walle Candies; Oreo Reindeer, Oh Nuts!

Sandwich Cookies

If you don’t think of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when looking at your favorite sandwich cookies, changing your perspective may increase your holiday sales. When RCI member Vande Walle’s Candies coated Nutter Butter sandwich cookies in chocolate and embellished them with a pair of candy eyes, pretzel twist antlers and a bright red nose, these cute reindeer treats reportedly “flew out the door,” they were so popular with their customers! For another spin on this idea, try substituting the Nutter Butter cookies with Oreo cookies on a stick.

More than ever, consumers are looking to social media for unique and memorable gift ideas this holiday season. Posting photos of your festive holiday treats on social media regularly will help your company capture the attention of consumers while they’re making their shopping list this season.

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tip #323: Assess Your Social Media Presence

Does your New Year’s resolution include improving your brand’s social media presence? If not, maybe it should. Did you know that 78% of consumers’ purchases are impacted by companies’ social media posts, according to a study conducted by customer intelligence company, Market Force.

A great first step towards improvement is to rate your social media presence as a consumer, right now.

Wait. Before you start tallying the number of followers on your Facebook page, I’m not referring to your numbers. I’m referring more to the aesthetics and the content provided on your social pages. Sure, these things are important to assess the overall performance of your social media efforts, but for now, just focus on the overall look and feel of your social media pages.

For example, how do your posts and product photos look? Are they visually appealing? Bright and colorful? Do they make you want to buy what you see? Are your followers engaged (liking or sharing your posts)? Are comments being replied to within 24-48 hours? How often are you posting? If you’re on Facebook or Instagram, you should make it a goal to post at least once a day. Do your posts always include images or videos? Did you know your posts will see more than two times more engagement if images or videos are included? Do your posts only include sales or do you offer inspiration for celebrating various holidays (from Valentine’s Day to National Potato Chip Day)? Beware: If you’re only posting when your products are on sale, you will attract followers who do not want to pay full price or are conditioned to expect reduced prices. Instead, focus on other areas of your business that make you stand out…like the fact that you make your own confections! “Behind the scenes” photos and video from the candy kitchen are as good as gold.

While assessing your social media page(s), the goal is to be as neutral as possible. If this difficult for you, ask a trusted friend, staff or family member who matches your ideal target market and will give you honest and constructive feedback. Note: If teenagers aren’t your target market, don’t ask your 16-year-old niece/neighbor/employee for feedback.

Next, focus on your company information. Imagine you’re a consumer interested in purchasing your products. What could a consumer learn about your business from your social media page? Are your physical and web addresses present? Are your store hours listed and up-to-date? How can they contact you? Is a phone number and email address listed? Next, your social media pages are, yet, another opportunity to tell your story. Make sure there is at least a short blurb about your company story, which may include when and how your business was started, what makes your products special? Do you hand-dip your chocolates or use state-of-the-art machinery? Do you like to experiment with unique flavors or use centuries-old, family recipes?

Once the questions above have been answered, assess what your business is doing well and what areas could be improved. This will help you determine your next steps. If done well, managing your social media page(s) will require an investment of time—especially if you post one day at a time. Improve efficiency by creating and scheduling social media in batches—such as a week or month at a time.

Careful consideration of the details reviewed in this week’s post will help you to improve your social media presence and create a strong brand for your business in the coming year! Let us know in the comments below if you assess your social media presence on a regular basis and what tactics you have found successful.

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tip #321: Stand Out with Instagram-Worthy Holiday Treats

How Instagram-worthy are your holiday treats?

Sure, they taste delicious, but how would a potential new customer know if they’ve never tasted your confections? No surprise, social media, like Instagram and Facebook, can be an effective tool for reaching consumers, however if A.) you’re not sharing photos of your products on your social media sites daily or B.) they don’t stand out from other holiday gifts, you could be missing out on a massive opportunity to gain new customers this season.

A study by Forbes has shown that 78% of consumers’ purchases are impacted by companies’ social media posts. So, if you’re looking for a boost in sales, consider transforming these classic confectionery treats into holiday showstoppers to help your business standout this season.

Rice Cereal Treats

Cookie cutters aren't just for cookies. They also make a great tool for creating fun seasonal chocolate-covered rice cereal treats. Make the most out of your collection of cookie cutters, by repurposing common shapes to create new and unique designs. After realizing that their gingerbread man treats weren’t selling as well as other designs, Bomboy’s Home Made Candy gave the tired cookie cutter new life by turning it upside down and transforming it into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This little reindeer proved to be a hit!

Make fall and summer designs last into the holidays! If you have cookie cutters shaped like a ghost or even an ice cream cone, just flip them upside down to transform the shapes into cute elves. Did you know a pumpkin cookie cutter can be repurposed to make a jolly Mrs. Claus?

Rudolph by Fab Art DIY; Mrs. Claus and Elves, Food Network; Ice Cream Cone Elves, Baker Stock by Bearfoot Baker

Caramel Apples

Traditionally a fall treat, a little creativity can help transform caramel apples into a festive holiday gift. For inspiration, mimic Santa’s jolly belly by adding his signature black belt and big gold buckle around a red caramel apple coated in red sprinkles or luster dust. Bring Frosty the Snowman to life by adding a jumbo marshmallow to the top of a caramel apple before dipping them both in white chocolate. A few chocolate chip “buttons" and a red licorice scarf will help tie it all together. Lastly, add candy eyes, a red nose and antlers, of course, to create everyone’s favorite reindeer out of a classic chocolate-covered caramel apple. There’s lots of ideas online for creating Rudolph’s antlers—from the easiest to the most realistic, you may want to try pipe cleaners, pretzel twists or sugar cookies for your antlers.

Santa Apples, Baked with Love; Mrs. Prindables Reindeer and Snowman; Reindeer with Pipe Cleaner Antlers, Design Dazzle

Need help perfecting your caramel apples? Check out these past blog posts for tips on making caramel stick to apples or learn why you should flip your caramel apples upside down.

Marshmallows

Jumbo marshmallows make a quick and easy canvas for creating holiday magic. Put three jumbo marshmallows on a stick, coat them in white chocolate and decorate to make marshmallow snowmen pops that are too sweet to pass up. Click here to watch a tutorial by Two Sisters Crafting. All you need to make adorable gingerbread marshmallow pops are, your choice of caramel-coated marshmallows or marshmallows covered in peanut butter confectioner’s coating, some piped white chocolate and tiny sugar decorations.

Snowmen, Two Sisters Crafting; Gingerbread Men, Munchkin Munchies

Sandwich Cookies

If you don’t think of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when looking at your favorite sandwich cookies, changing your perspective may increase your holiday sales. When RCI member Vande Walle’s Candies coated Nutter Butter sandwich cookies in chocolate and embellished them with a pair of candy eyes, pretzel twist antlers and a bright red nose, these cute reindeer treats reportedly “flew out the door,” they were so popular with their customers! For another spin on this idea, try substituting the Nutter Butter cookies with Oreo cookies on a stick.

Nutter Butter Reindeer, Vande Walle Candies; Oreo Reindeer, Oh Nuts!

More than ever, consumers are looking to social media for unique and memorable gift ideas this holiday season. Posting photos of your festive holiday treats on social media regularly will help your company capture the attention of consumers while they’re making their shopping list this season.

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tip #244: Stand Out on Small Business Saturday

Photo source: American Express

Start preparing now for Small Business Saturday on November 25, 2017. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are typically held at the big box stores, this is a day to celebrate small business and encourage holiday shoppers to visit the brick and mortar businesses that serve their local community. According to American Express, 112 million shoppers spent a reported $15.4 billion at their local small businesses on Small Business Saturday in 2016.

Tips for a Successful Small Business Saturday

Create a Special Offer

Use this day as an opportunity to reach not only your current customers, but gain some new ones. Create a special offer that involves a discount for one-day only or free samples with purchase. Make your customers feel special by going above and beyond, enticing them to keep coming back throughout the holiday season. While you want customers to visit your brick and mortar store don’t forget your e-commerce customers. Create a special offer that could be redeemed online as well.

Use the Tools Provided by American Express

Since 2010, American Express has offered free marketing materials to businesses promoting the holiday.  The Shop Small® Studio offers tools and templates for small businesses to create customizable marketing materials for their retail shop, website and social media sites in less than two minutes. Visit americanexpress.com/ShopSmall to find event ideas, inspiration and signage templates available to help small businesses spread the word at no cost.

Get Social

Use all aspects of social media to engage consumers, but make it about more than just a special offer. Think of creative ways to engage with customers and friends the week leading up to Small Business Saturday. Offer a special discount for liking the Facebook page, a drawing if the store reaches a certain number of likes, or unique specials to those that check in while shopping at your store. Use Instagram to post new products or specials throughout the week. Tweet store discounts, new products and special store hours for the day.

Make it a Party

Customers will want to be a part of your Small Business Saturday event if you make it like a party. One idea is to create a countdown in your store leading up to November 25th. Offer small incentives to get customers in the door on the day of the event. Having samples, coupons and a party atmosphere will really get people excited to be a part of this shopping day.

Involve Entire Community

Involving your community is a great way for local businesses to promote each other, driving traffic to multiple stores. Many communities are taking advantage of Small Business Saturday by having their own community-wide promotion or special marketing efforts surrounding this day. Contact your CVB or Chamber of Commerce to see if your city/town has any shop local, shop small efforts to promote this day.

Make your business stand out in your community by preparing for Small Business Saturday now.

Stay connected with RCI through Facebook for more tips and inspiration dedicated to the retail candy maker. Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tip # 174: Stand Out through Social Media

For candy makers and chocolatiers who produce fresh morsels of deliciousness every day, social media makes for a great, visual platform to communicate what makes your brand stand out. Interesting posts not only inform followers of that fresh batch of toffee now ready for purchase, but when used correctly can effectively drive home your point of difference (how your goods or services differ from the competition).

To identify your points of difference, first evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your business, followed by those of your competition. According to AmericanExpress’s Open Forum, small businesses should assess the consumer’s perception of the following points: price, variety, features, benefits, quality, availability, convenience, customer service and your story (how, why or where you do business). This can be an activity practiced on your own, but would be best to include a group of trusted team members – as long as you can keep an open mind in the process.

After identifying the strengths and weaknesses of both your company and the competition, note areas of similarity. After crossing out the strengths you share with competitions, the strengths that stand apart become your points of difference. Your points of difference should be leveraged to create a consistent brand message which inspires brand loyalty by giving consumers a reason to purchase your product. A point of difference doesn’t always have to be spelled out, in fact, it shouldn’t be – that would get old quick. Everyone knows a picture speaks a thousand words, before posting a photo on Instagram or Facebook think about your points of difference and the message you want to communicate to your followers. If one of your points of difference is that you hand-dip chocolates, post photos of your staff in the act (always make sure they are following good manufacturing practices).

You don't need to read their company history to know Birnn Chocolates
of Vermont uses fresh, heavy cream from local dairy cows in their truffles.

As a wholesale supplier, you will not find RCI member, Birnn Chocolates of Vermont on Facebook. However, they do a great job of communicating one of their points of difference to their B2B clients, which is the fact that they use only fresh, heavy cream from Vermont cows for the ganache centers in their famous truffles. They even have a photo of brothers Jeff and Bill Birnn posed with those very Vermont cows on their website.