Great Everyday Christmas Ideas

Certain items are seasonal, like Christmas Wreaths and Turkeys, Pumpkins and Red Hearts. However, some items sell very well, but aren't obvious Christmas items. These are all strong sellers, but volume really spikes during the Christmas holiday season. Some examples are below. I hope to do a few more posts later that will give additional examples. Please comment about what works for you and your stores.

Great Christmas Bulk Ideas
Marich Bing Cherries 956M
Marich Ice Creams 748M
Redstone Pecans - Milk 1010C
Redstone Pecans - Dark 1010D

Of course, any chocolate covered nut works fantastic for the holidays, as well.


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What We Are Up To Now

I wanted to drop a quick note to let you know what is going on here. We are all but finished with Halloween. If you have any last minute needs, do let us know. Christmas product is mostly here in our warehouse and getting ready for the shipping. Our folks will be working 50 and 60 hour weeks starting next week to get all of the orders ready - and some will work more than that.

As far as Valentine and Easter (Passover too), we are busy selling that product. If you haven't made an appointment to look at our products, please let us know. We will need orders in house before you know it.

Good luck with all your holiday sales. Let us know what works and what doesn't so we can continue to grow on the winners.


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How To Taste Chocolate

NOTE: The content of this blog has been graciously provided by New Tree Chocolate. We carry a full line of New Tree. Check them out today.

Forget the notion that chocolate is just for your mouth. Getting the most out of gourmet chocolate is a treat for all the senses.

1) Start Fresh
The best results are obtained with a clean palate. To get the true sense of the taste, sip or rinse with water or lemon juice before you indulge. Start with the milk chocolates and then move on to the dark chocolates.

2) Too Hot, Too Cold, Just Right
Store chocolate in a cool, dry place, no need to refrigerate. Savoring chocolate at the right tempature heightens the taste experience. Before your first bite allow the chocolate to come to room temperature to ensure a perfectly balanced release of the cocoa and sugar flavors.

3) Its Got the Look
The chocolate surface should be glossy and smooth with no visible blemishes. Dark chocolate typically has a deliciously deep brown hue, while milk chocolate boasts shades of light brown with golden tones.

4)Music to the Ears
When fine quality chocolate is broken, you should hear a crisp, definitive snap. The chocolate should not crumble or bend.

5) The Nose Knows
The smell of gourmet chocolate can be as rich as the taste. Fresh chocolate smells sweet and well, chocolaty. Close your eyes, breath, and take in its tempting characteristics – flowery lavender scent, fruity blackcurrant aromas…

6)The Right Touch
Higher-end chocolate feels silky smooth to the touch. Chocolate melts at body temperature so it will begin to soften immediately.

7) Savor the Best for Last
The smell of gourmet chocolate can be as rich as the taste. Fresh chocolate smells sweet and well, chocolaty. Place a thumbnail size piece of chocolate Close your eyes, breathe, and take in its tempting characteristics.


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Trends: Gummy & Mallow

We carry new products every day that are made of gummy or marshmallow. Traditional shapes such as animals and coke bottles are just the tip of the iceberg. Many of them are shaped like other products such as:

Gummi Salamander - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/181T.jpg
Body is made of mallow and the tail, gummi.

Gummi Lunch Bags - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/229.jpg
Bag of various gummi items. Is this what you took to work or school today?

Gummi Pizza - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/507.jpg

Gummi Sea Critters - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/515.jpg

Chocolate Covered Gummi Bears - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/K164.jpg
One of Redstone’s more popular gummi items. Give it a try today!

Hello Kitty Marshmallow - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/121.jpg

Mallow Icecream Cone - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/165.jpg

Mallow Burger - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/129.jpg

Mallow Hot Dog - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/143.jpg

Mallow French Fries with Candy Ketchup - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/149.jpg

Mallow Pizza - http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/152.jpg
YUM YUM!!!

We have these in stock today! They are moving fast – don’t miss this opportunity.


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Trends: Chocolate is Good for You

Trends: Dark Chocolate is Good For You

There has been much of current research showing the chocolate is good for you.

See some great articles (below) from reputable news sources.

CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/12/20/health.chocolate/index.html

CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/20/earlyshow/saturday/main2710675.shtml

MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7339594/

WEBMD: http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate

The message in all of these articles is the same. Dark chocolate, in moderation, is good for your heart and cardiovascular system. We carry more than 30 brands of dark chocolate, both in packaged items such as bars and boxes of chocolate and bulk, such as chocolate covered fruits, nuts, and with chocolates with fillings such as caramel or truffles.

Call our customer service, visit our website, or email us at info aht redstone foods dott com to get additional recommendations.

[Note: We spell our email address in this way to avoid getting spam. If this causes confusion, just give us a call.]

I did see something about needing 40 calories of chocolate per day to get the full benefit. 40 calories - HA! At that point, your favorite blogger here is just getting warmed up. Oh well, at least the first few bites I'm doing for my health.

Redstone has been selling chocolate for over 40 years now. Never before have we sold so much dark chocolate as a percentage of total chocolate sales. This is especially true for higher end product. For example, if we add a new high end, gourmet chocolate bar line that has 10 items, 6 dark and 4 milk, 80-90% of what we sell will be dark. This is less true for chocolate covered nuts and clusters, but the trend continues there as well.

How does this work for your stores? Do you see this trend as well? Let us know in the comments.

Why We Are Doing a Blog?

• We want to connect with our customers in a meaningful way.
• Our customers are busy and may have downtime in early mornings or evenings and this is a way we can keep the lines of communication open 24x7.
• Our website is very information dense, but it can be challenging to find information on new items or trends and this is a way to bring important information to your attention.
• The blog will serve as a fantastic reference to look back on.
• Our suppliers want to provide information to our customers and this is an effective way to do that. For example, you will see a blog about how to properly taste chocolate and the blog is a fantastic way to get that information out.
• The blog will be updated every week – we hope to have frequent updates and will respond to comments of a general nature as quickly as possible. Specific questions about your account or order should be addressed either over email or by phone. Click HERE for the Redstone Foods main web page and you can get our email address and phone numbers.

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Who is Redstone Foods?

Redstone Foods is a family owned specialty food distributor, focusing primarily on Confections and Snack items. We define “specialty food” as food not normally seen in traditional grocery and convenience stores. We are looking for upscale, unique products to offer to our customers. While we do carry products with wide brand recognition, such as Lindt, Ghiradelli, and M&M, we focus on those companies who have a higher end focus and less mass market focus. Even within large companies, we tend to focus on specialty items. For example, we sell more Licorice Altoids (http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/76451.jpg) than Original Altoids (http://www.redstonefoods.com/pictures/6991.jpg).

Our customers vary in size from very small gift basket makers and Mom & Pop stores to divisions of multi-billion dollar companies. They have retail stores, gift stores, specialty grocery stores, are florists, hospital gift shops, gift basket makers, and party planners – just to name a few. Our relationships are very long term. We have had many customers for over 25 years and our average sales person has been with us almost 20 years and our average customer service person almost 10. We do business almost exclusively on credit terms (meaning we ship product and customers pay us later) – we do not take credit cards and don’t require a pre-payment once credit is established.