Posts Tagged ‘Candy Buffet’

5 Jan

Spring 2012 Wedding Candy Color Trends 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Looking at Spring 2012 color palettes from color experts Pantone, Benjamin Moore, and Pratt and Lambert, as well as spring wedding colors from The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings, it’s safe to say that the warmer wedding months of 2012 will bring plenty of orange (Tangerine Tango is Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year), hot pink, navy, lilac, and unique pastels that feature hints of gray, like Benjamin Moore’s 2012 Color of the Year, Wythe Blue.

So, how can you translate these color forecasts into timely candy buffets and dessert tables for Spring 2012? Simple! At Candy.com, we’ve got the site set up so you can shop by color.

Here are three candy palettes based on Pantone’s Spring 2012 Fashion Report:

Citrus Candy Colors (from left clockwise): Orange-Pineapple Candy Sticks, Juicy Pear and Orange Sherbet Jelly Belly Beans, Yellow Shimmer and Orange Shimmer Sixlets, Leaf Green Chocolate Foil Hearts, Pastel Green Almonds, Peach Gummy Rings, and Lime Green Shimmer Gumballs.

Berry Candy Colors (from left clockwise): Purple Wrapped Grape Hard Candy, Grape Taffy, Milk Chocolate Pink Gems, Purple Swirl Lollipops, Pink and Purple Favor Boxes, Purple M&M’s, Hot Pink Candy Pearls, and Hot Pink Rock Candy Sticks.

Caribbean Candy Colors (from left clockwise): Yellow Shimmer Gumballs, Light Blue Milk Chocolate Gems, Lemon Slices, Poppin’ Pineapple Gummy Bears, Blue and Pastel Yellow Jordan Almonds,  Pina Colada Licorice Twists, Blueberry & Honey Teaspoons (great for tea and coffee bars!), and Dark Blue M&M’s.

Creating a color-coordinated candy buffet or dessert table is easy if you start with a color palette from inspirational sites like Pantone, Pinterest, or ColourLovers. Or pick up a handful of paint chips from your local paint store.

If you need help creating a candy color palette for your event, or are unsure of how much candy to buy, call us at (888) 422-6393 or Chat Live. We specialize in candy for weddings and events of all types and sizes, so we’d love to hear from you … and help!

p.s. – Check out our new digital Valentine’s 2012 Candy Catalog with Pink, Red, and White candy color palettes!

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in Albanese, Candy, Candy Buffets, Jelly Belly Candy Company, Kimmie Candy Company, Sixlets, Squire Boon Village, Sweet Works, SweetWorks, Inc., Trends

13 Nov

Candy Buffet Experts Dish on Trends and Top Candies for Holiday 2011 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Starbucks cups are dressed in red, Target’s Christmas aisles are up and twinkling, and peppermint candy canes are selling like hotcakes at Candy.com. This can only mean one thing. It’s game on for holiday party season.

That said, I did a little holiday party planning homework for you by contacting two prominent party planning/candy buffet experts to find out which candies they’ll be using on their clients’ holiday dessert tables and what trends they’re noticing as the holidays draw near. Here’s the skinny …

“Out with traditional red and green, and in with unique pairs like red and aqua, red and pink, and silver and white!” That’s the holiday hue forecast from Courtney Dial, founder and editor of Pizzazzerie, co-founder of The Bakery Spot, and author of the new book Push-up Pops, which is now available for pre-order.

Courtney’s forecast closely matches Pantone’s Color of the Year 2011 – Turquoise 15-5519, and Color of the Year 2010 – Honeysuckle Pink 18-2120.

To get Courtney’s modern and chic color palettes to really pop on a dessert table, try using SweetWorks’ new Celebration Collection of single-color candies, which includes Sixlets, Gumballs, and Candy Pearls in matte and shimmer options as well as foiled chocolate hearts and balls. (Click on any of the SweetWorks candies below to learn more.)

According to Courtney,  “Retro Holiday” is also hot. To set the stage for a nostalgic vibe, she suggests candies like Mallo Cups, old-fashioned candy sticks, and thin ribbon candy, and using wax lips as a sweet prop in a photo booth station. “Of course everything on a stick is as popular as ever,” she adds, “so use a bit of royal icing ‘glue’ to attach the wax lips to a lollipop stick.”

Courtney’s also a big fan of gingerbread decorating parties. “Whether it’s a princess pink gingerbread house theme or a traditional one, kids and adults alike absolutely go crazy over decorating sweet houses for the holidays,” she says.

Last year, Courtney hosted a Holiday Pink Tea Party where the guests created pink and white gingerbread houses. “It was a huge hit,” she says. Looking at her blog post and photos, yes it was.

Photos courtesy of Pizzazzerie

When asked what specific candy Courtney and her team favor during the holidays, Courtney offers up the peppermint stick. “They’re the cutest treat to serve alongside a hot chocolate bar or dip in chocolate for an extra-sweet favor,” she explains.

Courtney suggests building a peppermint candy station at holiday parties and letting kids dip their peppermints in milk and white chocolate and add a variety of colored sprinkles. Cute!

Marie Dannettelle, the founder of California-based Sweets Indeed, a company that specializes in high-end custom candy and dessert stations, says she consistently gets rave reviews when she includes caramels, peppermint bark, and homemade toffee on a holiday dessert table. Another of Marie’s perennial favorites? Gumdrops.

“To me, it’s not the holidays unless there’s a bowl of spice drops (gumdrops) around,” she explains. “In past years, we’ve even used them to make wreaths, trees, topiaries, necklaces, and more! One of these days I’ll create a dessert station centered around them.”

Candy.com now has mini and jumbo gumdrops to create the coolest Gingerbread House on the cul-de-sac. (For more product info, click on the gumdrops image above.)

For the 2011 holiday season, Marie also says she’s going to mix it up and stay away from traditional red and green. “I think pastels will make a big show in Christmas decor this year, especially in the desserts and candy section,” she says.

To achieve the softer holiday schematic for her clients, Marie is looking to Hammond’s Candy for its hand-pulled candy canes, candy ribbons, pillows, and straw candies offered in non-traditional, yet highly festive colors like bubble gum pink, berry blue, and sour apple green.

Marie and her team are also relying on their own handmade holiday Candy Kabobs to punch up holiday parties. (Candy Kabobs are available for purchase at SweetsIndeed.com.) The candy combinations and themes are crazy creative, vibrant, and fun. Here are a few teasers …

Photos courtesy of Sweets Indeed and The Pixel Studio

Many thanks to Courtney and Marie for their holiday party tips, trends, and go-to candies!

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in Candy, Christmas, Hammond’s Candies, Mints and Breath Fresheners, Nostalgic/Retro, Oak Leaf, Pizzazzerie, Quality Candy Co., Sixlets, Sweets Indeed, SweetWorks, Inc., Trends

28 Mar

Brides Have a Passion for Purple 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding season is in full bloom—and magnified by the April 29 Royal Wedding.

Word on the bridal beat is that the “it” color for weddings is regal purple. According to TheKnot.com’s recently released 2010 wedding survey, purple was selected by 1 out of 5 brides (21%) for their wedding—up 50% since 2008. Losing popularity with brides is brown, which apparently plummeted 16% last year.

Colored Sixlets are one of Candy.com's most popular wedding candies.

Since purple (especially lavender) is such a hot wedding color and 14% of brides in the TheKnot.com’s survey said they had a candy buffet at their 2010 wedding, I put together a “Purplicious” board at Pinterest.com and filled it with a range of purple candies (see my attempt at a reproduction below).

Perhaps the young royal couple will see the Pinterest board and be inspired to treat their wedding guests to a candy buffet outfitted with All-Natural Lavender Honey Tea Spoons. Purple honey spoons could be the perfect accompaniment to the rumored royal fruitcake. :)

(Click on photos below for product details and to see Candy.com’s entire purple candy collection.)

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in C Howards, Candy, Gum/Bubble Gum, Gummy, Hershey Company, The, Hershey's Kisses, Kimmie Candy Company, Melville Candy Company, Milk Chocolate, Sixlets, Sunbursts, Sweet Works, Trends, Violet Candies

22 Sep

Meet Candy Girl Wonder, Jackie Sorkin 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A few weeks ago, a colleague at Candy.com told me about a Southern California-based event planner who has created candy buffets for Oprah, the Emmy Awards, American Idol, celebrity weddings, etc.

This inquiring mind had to find out: Who is this confectionery Wonder Woman?

Turns out, it’s Jackie Sorkin—and she really is Wonder Woman (step aside Lynda Carter). Jackie is the founder of Custom Candy Buffet Bars and Southern California Wedding Planner. On top of that, she’s a heavy-duty blogger, brand new mom, and soon-to-be star of a TV series about her candy catering empire. (Note to self: Do not let the kids read this because they will think you are a slacker.)

Jackie kindly agreed to chat with Candy.com to get the straight dope on her booming Custom Candy Buffet Bars business in Hollywood.

Buckle in …

Candy.com: I know your Custom Candy Buffet Bar business launched after years of event planning in New York City and Los Angeles. What was the light bulb moment that led you to candy?

Jackie: I love things that are pretty and candy certainly is that! I began creating custom candy creations for clients events and they were received so well that I thought, “There is something to this candy thing.” Then I began doing more and more event shows and expos and, since I am so competitive, I wanted all the attendees at my booth chatting with ME! So, I created some really great Custom Candy Buffet Bars and just like that, I WON! My booths were always swamped with guests and people flipped for my candy.

Candy.com: On your blog, “The Fabulous Fun Adventures of Jackie Sorkin & The Hollywood Candy Girls,” you talk a lot about your sweet entourage. How do the Candy Girls fit into your business?

Jackie: My Candy Girls are my six lil’ sisters. The girls and I are like a family and they are a major part of my business. They are very well recognized in Hollywood since we do so many events there. Paparazzi can’t get enough of them either. They love to stage shots of the girls with celebrities and our candy. The Candy Girls are fabulously fun and assist in creating our events, assist clients at events with their candy, and, if that weren’t all, the girls are total Eye Candy themselves. They always bring a little extra sugar and spice to our events not to mention the mischief we find ourselves getting into every now and then. Jessica is our assistant and handles lots of the important details, too. We’d be so lost without  her.

Candy.com: Since you and the girls brush with fame quite often during your high-profile events, do you have any scoop on celebrities’ favorite candy?

Jackie: Yes of course! We know that Oprah‘s best friend Gayle King likes gummy candy, and sweet and sour stuff. Mega producer Diane Warren LOVES Good & Plenty, Paris Hilton loves anything sweet and flipped for our Candy Ka-bobs!

Candy.com: What’s the most over-the-top candy buffet/bar you’ve created so far?

Jackie: We created a fabulous custom candy buffet bar for the 2010 Emmy Awards recently, which was a huge hit. Everything we do is totally customized so you always get something new. Our designs range from cute and funky, to whimsical and retro, to clean, modern and elegant. It just depends on the client’s candy vision.

Modern Family's Nolan Gould chomped on a cake pop at Jackie's Emmy Awards candy buffet.

Candy.com: Any particular candies that seem to be a hit at most any event?

Jackie: Gummy candy and sours, or chocolate.

Candy.com: What’s your favorite candy? (We had to ask.)

Jackie: Ummm, kind of hard to answer but I’ll say … jelly beans (the old school kind).

Candy.com: I understand you could be reality star Bethenny Frankel’s long lost sister (the sister she doesn’t know exists … yet). What characteristics do you share with Ms. Frankel?

Jackie: I LalaLOVE Bethenny Frankel to the 1000 trillionth power. I could answer this question for days and it’s my fave question from you. Well, what we have in common is an insane work ethic, the desire to succeed in such a major way, and the endless efforts we expel to grow our companies. I also just had my first baby who, like Bethenny’s baby Bryn Hoppy, was also a surprise. My daughter’s name is Isabella. (She is the heiress to the candy empire and she is totally delicious).

Jackie Sorkin's little Bella is darling and delicious.

I have an amazing husband who really gets me and has the patience of a saint, but I’m sure he also looks at me some days and thinks, “Babe, you are so nuts. Chill out!” Bethenny is hysterical and pure personality, yet she is vulnerable and so real. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I embody the same qualities and I make no excuses for who I am. My favorite thing about myself is that I keep it real and always will. I say what I think, I believe really hard work pays off, and I dream BIG. Really BIG! I think life is short so I make it sweet and fun.

Candy.com: What’s the next “Fabulous Fun Adventure” for Jackie Sorkin?

Jackie: What’s next for us, WOW! What isn’t? I mean we have 101 things going on at once it makes my head spin like a whirly pop. What our friends, fans, and clients can look forward to is a reality show based on our crazy candy business to launch on a major network as well as the opening of our retail store; franchising our candy buffet and candy catering business; more and more clients and major events; perhaps planning a proper wedding for my husband and I since we never got to experience one but we totally deserve a super mega-fun party; partnerships with major players in the world of candy; and hopefully getting to create something for the cutest girls in town: the Obama girls, Sasha and Malia.

And with that I thank you Candy.Com for this super duper fun interview and to the world. We look forward to making all your candy dreams come true.

xoxo – Jackie & The Candy Girls

Candy.com thanks Jackie & The Candy Girls for the interview and all of the gorgeous photos.* Stay tuned for more info about Jackie’s reality TV show, which sounds like Keeping Up with the Kardashians meets Ace of Cakes.

In the meantime, check out the following candy buffet bars created by Jackie and her Hollywood Candy Girls …



*Photos of baby Isabella and the pink, yellow, and orange candy buffet bar by Jessica Herrera Photography.

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in Business, Cakes/Cupcakes, Candy, Candy Buffets, Candy Crafts, News, Trends