Confectioner is 90 years old with this issue! And it’s interesting to note that although so many things have changed in the confectionery industry, many things have stayed the same. We have every issue of Confectioner — it was called the Northwestern Confectioner when it was launched in 1916 — and it’s an interesting trip looking through old issues.

The steadily advancing price of raw materials is naturally the all absorbing topic of interest in the confectionery trade at the present time. Sugar, cocoa beans, cocoa butter fruits, gums, nuts, colors, boxes, even paper and twine, have been soaring to new high points and yet the end does not seem to be in sight. The situation has created a perplexing problem, especially for the manufacturer. He has been forced to raise the price of his manufactured goods, but not in proportion to the advance in raw materials, with the result that the margin of profits is being cut into badly.

Such a large proportion of the raw materials used in the manufacture of chocolate and confectionery is imported that it is almost impossible to predict just what will be the outcome of the price situation. Authorities in the trade, however, are inclined to the belief that as long as the European war is on, even greater advances may be expected. Some manufacturers are even going so far as to predict that 8, 81/2, or even 9-cent sugar is a possibility during the next few months.

The National Confectioners Association, at its recent convention held in Detroit, on the recommendation of the resolutions committee, voted to designate the second Saturday of October in each year as Candy Day. This day falls on October 14 this year and every manufacturer, retailer, jobber and salesman should unite in making the day one of national significance.

On this occasion, members of the national association are to induce retailers to install elaborate window displays and are to prepare special advertising to stimulate the candy trade. “Apple Day” has become nation-wide in observance and there is no reason why “Candy Day” cannot be as widely observed.

And the first Candy Day was definitely a major success according to the November 1916 issue of the Northwestern Confectioner with glowing reports of citywide activities in Cincinnati, Milwaukee, New York and Chicago. Walther C. Hughes, secretary of the National Confectioners Association, reported, “I have received from newspaper publishers all over the United States, full-page display advertisements with special Candy Day headings and borders, and a center Candy Day story, surrounded by the cards of local manufacturing, wholesale and retail confections.”

Are You Eating Enough Candy?  The hunger for sweets is natural. The normal man or woman who is not eating a reasonable amount of candy daily is not being properly fed.