The other week my daughter and I had the honor of attending a pre Grand Opening event at the See's Candy in the Penn Square Mall. As soon as I stepped foot into the store I may or may not have done an inner squee. The saying "just like a kid in a candy store" stands true for adults too you know. There's something about stepping into a See's Candies store and smelling the chocolate (oh my gosh the chocolate) and seeing the classic black and white tiled floors that brings out the inner child in every one. As if they knew what we were all thinking we were given a chance to take a peek behind the counter, and get this, we did packing races! Lets just say I now know how to efficiently (not speedily) pack a 12 count chocolate caramel marshmallow box of candies. It was a lot of fun watching everyone try to figure out how exactly to get the little papers that the candies sit in separated with one hand AND not touch any of the candy with your hands, it was a fun process but also educational in learning that they don't actually touch the candies and that they actually inspect each box to make sure it is up to their standards before it can be sent out to be sold.
While there we got the opportunity to learn more about the company and let me tell you they are a company deep with history. I knew See's was a company with many years behind them but knowing there was a story to those years makes it makes it all that much more special. Here are a few interesting tidbits I learned during our visit:
1. See's sells over 26 million pounds of candy every year!
2. In addition to the 26 million that they sell they give away approximately 1 million pounds in samples.
3. Every single person who walks through the door has the option to receive one sample of candy.
4. The first See's Candies shop was opened in 1921 in Southern California.
5. They have two factories in California. One in Burbank (which I have driven by so neat) and one in San Francisco.
6. See's Candies was started by Charles See the son of Mary See who's picture hangs in every See's Candies store.
7. They still make a few of Mary See's original recipes from when she first started baking such as the fudge.
8. See's uses no added preservatives in their candies.
9. They now offer Gluten Free options.
10. The LollyPops are made in a different factory then the chocolate candies so that along with the chocolate drops are the only candies that they can guarantee are allergy friendly.
11. The chocolate drops is the same chocolate that they cover their candies with.
12. See's employees are AWESOME! Seriously they pour their heart and soul into their job and love not only what they do but the company they work for.
13. And my favorite little tidbit they shared was that the scene in I Love Lucy, you all know which one I'm talking about right? The one where she's in the candy shop trying to keep up with packaging the candy along the assembly line and she get's so overwhelmed in the classic Lucy fashion that she starts shoving her face with chocolates? Yeah that one! It was filmed in the Southern California facility.
Okay so I learned a little bit more then just a couple of things but it was all so fascinating to me I just soaked it all in. I've always been a See's fan. I still remember going into a See's store as a little girl and walking out with a chocolate LollyPop in hand. I want to personally thank Adam, Jermaine, Diana and See's for allowing my daughter and I to take a peek inside the magic behind your wonderful company.
