Sweet Beginnings

My first impression is that this job is going to be pretty sweet.   

 My first impression is that this job is going to be pretty sweet.   

I’ve been a journalist for about five years, but this will be my first gig at a magazine. Before this, I wrote mostly for daily newspapers throughout the Midwest, including stints in Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin and the Chicago suburbs. I’m looking forward to switching out late-night school board meetings for candy conventions and house fires for new product write-ups.   

I’m 27 years old, which the Internet tells me makes me a Millennial. I remember the world before Google could answer all my questions, but just barely. I like Twitter, text messaging and status updates. I sleep next to my Droid X cell phone, I think watches are for fashion only, and I impulsively buy a candy bar every time I’m in the check-out line.  

 Also, the first year it was invented I signed up for Facebook, where I currently have 396 friends, about 250 pictures, and countless detailed status updates. I’m happy to see that companies are finally harnessing my generation’s love for sharing too much information. Everyone I’ve ever met –  from my college roommate to my mom – now knows that I “LIKE” Target, Pretzel M&Ms, and the Zac Brown Band. Moreover, as the web makes it easier and easier to make brand recommendations, the marketing powers behind it become more and more evident.   

I should have always known I’d end up at a confectionery magazine. Back in the day, I was a master trick-or-treater, going up and down blocks and blocks and blocks of neighborhoods streets, come rain, or snow, or sleet, to get candy that somehow tasted earned. Seeing as I’m how I’m a woman and all, I obviously favor chocolate above all else, but Pixy Stix and Fun Dip also have a special place in my heart. I’ve gone through my Twix phase, my M&Ms’ phase, and my Snickers’ phase, but because I’m a native of Chicagoland, the one candy in my life that I have always gone back to are the timeless Fannie May Trinidads. Something about that yellow candy coating with the smooth chocolate inside makes them a little bit like heaven mixed with rainbows and awesomeness. 

When Fannie May almost went out of business a few years ago, I went through all the stages of grief. “Surly there’s been a mistake! Fannie May can’t close!” Then, “Stupid shoppers! Why aren’t they buying those Mint Meltaways!” And then, “Maybe I could scrape together some money and buy the company myself!!” That was closely followed by a lot of crying.   

Luckily, I never had to get to the “acceptance” stage because Alpine Confections swooped in and saved the day! Of course, now they are run by 1-800-Flowers, but as long as I can find them every time I go to the grocery store or when I pass their shop at the mall, I don’t really care who distributes them.   

I can’t wait to get to know everything there is to know about confections by working here. And don’t worry, I’m more than willing to taste test if that’s what the job calls for. It’s a rough life, but I think I’ll manage.