Tap into the all the potential nuts represent! Nuts add flavor, texture and visual appeal to any confection. Discover ways to expand your product line with nuts, plus learn how to troubleshoot common challenges nuts in confections and review a new recipe featuring nuts to try in your candy kitchen.

Gwen Rosenberg has been a confectioner since 2012 when she and her husband, Aaron, opened their first retail popcorn and confectionery business, Popped!, in Kent, Ohio. Since then, they added another retail and production space in nearby Ravenna. Gwen enjoys discovering and experimenting with classic formulas many from the book Choice Confections. She has shared these confectionery trials in Manufacturing Confectioner Magazine with humor and even some success. She also currently sits on the executive board of RCI. When not candy making, Gwen relaxes by harassing her four teenage sons and giving treats to her two terribly behaved dogs.

Joe Sofia graduated from Cornell University and spent 10 years working for Nestlé USA in engineering, R&D and manufacturing before joining Peter’s Chocolate as a district sales manager in 1995. He spent several years as Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate’s chocolate specialist and is currently Senior Regional Account Manager. Joe has hosted seminars and demonstrations at the Philadelphia Candy Show and Sweets & Snacks Expo and has previously served on the instruction team for both RCI's Chocolate Boot Camp and Caramels, Toffees & Brittles.

An integral component to many classic confections, the pecan is not only coveted for its sweet taste and buttery texture, but also for being a bite-size nutritional powerhouse. Known as the “original supernut,” pecans are a good source of fiber, thiamin and zinc and an excellent source of copper and manganese. Learn more about the original supernut, including its nutritional offerings, how it’s produced and processed, as well as what obstacles affect the crop from a second-generation pecan farmer.

Miller Pecan Company, now the largest pecan sheller in the state of Oklahoma, came from modest beginnings. Starting with a single tractor and picker in the late 1980s, Len Miller and two of his three sons, Justin and Jared, started picking pecans for landowners on a “share’s basis” throughout northeast Oklahoma.

In 2000, Justin and Jared graduated from college and, along with their father, opened up a custom cleaning operation of in-shell pecans in Chetopa, Kansas along with the continued harvesting of pecans.  This allowed them to start purchasing land around the Neosho River Bottom, known for producing excellent quality pecans. In 2014, Justin and Jared Miller opened a new pecan shelling facility and retail store in Afton, Oklahoma. The shelling plant is a new, high-tech facility where workers size, sanitize, crack, shell and meticulously inspect approximately 30,000 pounds of nuts on a typical day, and more than 45,000 pounds each day during the peak season of fall. Miller Pecan is now shipping quality pecans to every state in the United States.  What started with plans of only shelling their own crop, has now exploded into Miller Pecan becoming a buyer of In-shell pecans in the surrounding area and beyond to be able to satisfy customer demand. Today, Miller Pecan Company farms more than 1,000 acres with more than 24,000 trees in the river bottom. They plant new areas of trees yearly, and since 2015 have planted more than 2,000 trees.

Founded almost twenty years ago, the Made in Oklahoma (MIO) Coalition was local before local had a name. What is now one of the most successful public-private partnerships in the history of the state started out small, with only seven companies sitting around a table discussing ways to build brand loyalty for made-in Oklahoma products. The MIO Coalition was established on the premise that building brand loyalty for Oklahoma-made food products could be attained by pooling together resources to generate consumer awareness through collective marketing campaigns. MIO Coalition members match public funds with private dollars to support sales in retail grocery stores, local and national restaurant chains, and other non-traditional outlets.

Learn how the coalition has grown over the past 19 years to encompass around 100 companies statewide, which generate over $3.4 billion dollars annually and employ over 58,000 Oklahomans. RCI member Brian Jackson of Woody Candy Company will lead discussion as panelists and members of the Made in Oklahoma Coalition share how their involvement in this local initiative has benefitted their businesses and why other food manufacturers should seek out their own local coalitions.

Panelists:
Miller Pecan Company
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry
Trucker Treats

Brian Jackson was born and raised in Oklahoma City. After graduating from college, Brian served as a Supply Officer in the United States Navy. He graduated with a Masters of Business Administration which led to employment on the strategy and operations team with Deloitte Consulting. After traveling and seeing the world for more than 15 years, Brian returned home to Oklahoma City. In 2014, he became the President and COO of Woody Candy Company. He now lives in Oklahoma City with his wife Camille.  They have two wonderful kids that keep them on their toes and perpetually tired, yet they wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Kettle Talk (RCI Member Exclusive)

Do you want to know the secrets to making exceptional confections? Join this open discussion where confectionery professionals ask questions and share knowledge on the topics of chocolate techniques, production, regulatory affairs, labeling laws, business ownership and more.