Candy Industry

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Is there a sweeter way to celebrate prom than to make your own dress — out of candy wrappers?

Though the Ivory Coast has been the home to a Cemoi factory for 20 years and the world’s largest cocoa producers, local Ivorians have not had much access to the final product until recent years.

A donation to satisfy any sweet tooth — that’s what Verve, Inc., an environmentally-minded, socially responsible candy company in Rhode Island, is doing by gifting 54,000 bubblegum-filled lollipops to charity.

The winners are the result of attendee voting and industry representatives’ choice.

As important as all the steps that go into chocolate making are, product innovation and consumer input are equally valuable.

The stats are in — Americans want to know what’s in their food.

It wasn’t long before she whisked me to the Tootsie Roll production area to view a continuous slab of that wonderful chocolate-like confection falling onto a conveyor belt.

To satisfy all, it’s important to understand cocoa science and structure.

“We wanted to analyze who we are, our history, where we belong in the category,” says Doug Simons. “We have a great history, a great product, a great following. We needed to focus on our premium quality.”

Anne Shaeffer first had the idea while walking through the chocolate section of the grocery store and wondering to herself, “How can most people tell the difference between good and not-so-good chocolate before they buy?”