PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Candy makes people happyexcept when theyve finished the last bite! Its always bittersweet to reach the center of the Tootsie Roll Pop, to lose the flavor in gum, or to take that last lick of the lollipop.
Endings are always tough, and ironically even then, candy is present. Whether theres a shiva service or a wake, a large banquet of confections helps to sweeten the occasion. No matter what happens in our lifetime, from wars to recessions, health epidemics to environmental challenges, candy is here to stay! Its a timeless piece of our culture that fortunately every generation can experience. By consuming candy, cooking with candy, decorating with candy, and celebrating with candy, you will live the sweet life! Give candy to someone you care about and you are guaranteed to make the person smile instantaneously, too.
I hope this book has shown you to savor lifeevery delicious moment of it. Theres always tomorrow to taste so much more that life has to offer! May each step you take be sweet!
SOURCES & CREDITS
The following candies are registered trademarks of the respective companies:
Adams & Brooks: Whirly Pop. Albert & Son: Ice Cubes. American Licorice Company: Red Vines. Annabelle Candy Co.: Abba-Zaba, Big Hunk, Rocky Road. Anthon Berg: Chocolate Cordials. Bartons Confections: Million Dollar Bar. Cadbury: Cadbury Crme Egg. Chowards: Violet. Espeez: Gold Mine. Farleys & Sathers: Chuckles, JuJubes. Ferrara Pan: Lemonhead, Red Hots. Hersheys: 5th Avenue, Good & Plenty, Hersheys Kisses, York Peppermint Pattie. Just Born: Chocolate-Covered Peeps, Peanut Chews, Peeps. M&M/Mars: M&Ms, Milky Way, Snickers, Twix. Marpo: Marshmallow Cones. Nestl: Baby Ruth, Bit-O-Honey, Butterfinger, Chunky, Oh Henry!, Sno-Caps. New England Confectionery Company: Candy Buttons, Clark, Necco Wafers. Pez: Pez. Tootsie Roll Industries: Charleston Chew, Dots, Dubble Bubble, Sugar Babies, Sugar Daddy, Tootsie Roll, Wak-O-Wax, Nik-L-Nip wax bottles. Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company: Big League Gum, Life Savers, Santas Coal Bubble Gum. World Confections: Aerobica.
Lauren family photos, courtesy of Wireimage and Polo
Courtesy of Jelly Belly Candy Company, by Peter Rocha
eye candy
CANDY KALEIDOSCOPE
Sometimes candy is so beautiful, I dont even want to eat it. It pains me to pop a perfect rainbow nonpareil in my mouth, when I can sit back and admire its artistry. For this reason, I display hundreds of candies around my home, on shelves, on the coffee table, as the dining table centerpiece. I love to surround myself with their myriad colors; they keep me happy and invigorated.
To me, candy is not just something you enjoy in your mouth; its something you savor visually as well. Its as much art to me as a Warhol or a Lichtenstein. I think I inherited my appreciation for color and art from my family. Most generations of my family are artists in some form, whether they are painters, designers, filmmakers, or dancers. We all tend to be sensitive to color and how it moves us; we express ourselves by wearing it or by decorating our personal spaces with it.
Throughout my childhood, I went into my dads offices and watched him design clothing. I was fascinated by the brightly colored swatches of fabric in giant glass apothecary jars. I literally wanted to climb the shelves, reach into the jars, and eat the fabric! The colors were mouthwatering! This was a true case of synesthesia. I was inspired by seeing how the fall and spring collections were differentiated by shades and gradations of color: tans, olives, hunter green, and maroon for fall; and fuchsia, turquoise, and bright orange for spring. I am always drawn to the summer collection of polos and sweaters that are merchandised in a rainbow. Its challenging to pick a favorite, since each one looks even better in the midst of the other colors.
Similar to fashion, different colors of candy are emphasized during different seasons. Pastels in pink, blue, purple, green, orange, and yellow are extremely popular for spring. Bold red, emerald green, white, blue, gold, and silver are more pronounced in the winter months. But unlike fashion, its okay to buy a candy in any color, even if its not in season!
When I was designing Dylans Candy Bar, I chose white as the backdrop. I wanted the candy colors to really leap off the shelves and out of the bins, like art displayed on a white gallery wall. The candy fixtures and architecture were created to match the colors of actual candy, so customers could feel they were in a modern Candy Land. Colors emit energy and cheer people up. The kaleidoscope of colors at Dylans Candy Bar is one of the reasons people say it is one of the happiest places on earth. Im extremely particular about the colors we use when designing Dylans Candy Bar products. Im obsessed with the Pantone book (the color guide and my bible), and I use it to ensure everything is printed to match the candy colors. Im a stickler; I will insist we redo items several times until they match. It will bother me all day if I feel the color is off.
When I chose the nine colors to use in my logo, my financial advisers almost had a heart attack! Most logos are one color because its easier to print and way less expensive. But to me, the variety of color was so reminiscent of candy and so important to make our products shine apart from other brands as more unique and giftable. I learned from my dad and other successful company founders that color is crucial for brand recognition and memory. Everyone knows Tiffany blue, Barbie hot pink, and McDonalds red and yellow!
Color plays one of the biggest roles in influencing customers to buy products, from cars to shoes to candy. According to the Institute for Color Research, people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and 6290% of this assessment is based on color alone. Colors also have been proven to catch shoppers eyes and extend the time they spend looking at something.
When my team of buyers and I attend the Candy Expos, color plays a major role in deciding what products make the cut. Typically a collection that has all the rainbow colors will be bought. Our goal is for Dylans Candy Bar to have the absolute largest variety of flavors and colors in all candy categories, from rock candy to gummy bears, from filled chocolates and gumballs to jelly beans. Color has the ability to affect mood and bring back memories. I think my customers get nostalgic for their youth when they come in the store. They see all the primary-colored candies, and they subconsciously remind them of their earlier toys and games. Suddenly their memory of first-grade art class and learning roygbiv (the rainbow) is evoked.
Color also has a strong impact on how people perceive products to taste or smell. We form these color-flavor associations at an early age. For example, yellow candy is typically expected to taste like fresh lemons. Customers feel rewarded when they can predict that flavor before they bite into a yellow candy.
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