The following letter was sent by me to Just Born Incorporated, makers of Mike and Ike candies (as well as Peeps, Zours and a few other things). It came up last Saturday in the late AM/early PM as a few friends and I were eating at Perkins.
Note: Scramblers are good and you get a lottery ticket-like item for buying one! I got an "MB," as did Edgar, but if we can get organized and form a group dedicated to completeing the word "SC-RA-MB-LE-R" or something... there is $25 GR in it for us. Also, Prom is excempt from joining because he resufed to buy one.
Anyway, here's the letter. Please keep in mind that they sent me a question-specific response package that contained a lot of free stuff. Just food (er, candy) for thought! Also, I guess I a't used the ampersand symbol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampersand), so that's awesome.
"To whom it may concern:
I am a college student at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, MN. Although I am a huge fan of most candied items, Just Born Inc. sits at the top of my list, as it has for some time. Going back through my earlier years, Mike and Ike candies have always been there to satisfy my sweet tooth. Movies, bus rides and driving to various vacation destinations with my family all have one commonality: I make sure that I have some Mike and Ike candy along. The value, taste, and flavors are all excellent. The addition of such flavors as Cherry Cola and the crème combinations were simply brilliant in my eyes. Hot Tamales are nearly a staple for my sister, and I, too, enjoy the cinnamon taste explosion found in every box of them!
I do have a few concerns with the direction I perceive the Just Born family to be taking the Mike and Ike franchise. First and foremost, I feel that several classic flavors have been wrongfully terminated. Lem and Mel and Cherry and Bub come to mind. Talking to a few friends, they remembered the aforementioned flavors and commented that they, too, missed them. I’m not familiar with the financial status of Just Born, but I feel that if flavors such as Buttered Popcorn can be added, the decadent combinations of lemon and melon as well as cherry and bubblegum should return to the line-up after spending so much undeserved time on the sidelines, if you will.
Reminiscing about Jolly Joes, I fondly recall how they were both united with Mike and Ike candies as well as apart from them. Primarily, I found it interesting that instead of the large Mike and Ike insignia, it said Jolly Joes with a smaller Mike and Ike below it, serving a secondary role. Jolly Joes deserve separate recognition, as they are the only candy in this genre to have a single flavor in a box (one may make the argument that Cherry Cola, for example, is a single flavor, but it is actually two: cherry and cola). On the new packaging of the candy, the jovial mascot one couples with Jolly Joes is nonexistent! This simply boggles my mind. From my viewpoint, it seems that the grape flavor is flourishing and should be given the status it deserves, the large Jolly Joe insignia written on the packaging and the return of Joe himself.
In regards to packaging, I was shocked to discover the implementation of plastic bags for the Mike and Ike candies at my local convenience mart. The classic look of boxed Mike and Ike flavors was a unique trademark held down by Just Born Inc. for as long as I can remember. The bags make the candy seem cheap and mass produced, stripping away the “hand-crafted” feel of the attractive looking boxes I have come to know, love, and expect from Just Born.
I wish to close with a quote I hope you will find pertinent to my comments regarding the flavor and box changes: "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." I feel that this quote by Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch has accurately depicted my sentiments to the changes I highlighted that Just Born Inc. has made over the last several years. Although I absolutely love the products that make up the Just Born family, I feel that “tough love” on my part may incite some change that will be for the better.
My absolute best regards,
Matthew J. Hoffman, Esquire"
~"Sparkle Sparkle" (my least common and least known nickname... I sense a strong positive correlation there. Someone run the numbers! But not Patrick, he already found me more information on owning and loving a monkey than everyone else put together!)
Anyway, here's the letter. Please keep in mind that they sent me a question-specific response package that contained a lot of free stuff. Just food (er, candy) for thought! Also, I guess I a't used the ampersand symbol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampersand), so that's awesome.
"To whom it may concern:
I am a college student at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, MN. Although I am a huge fan of most candied items, Just Born Inc. sits at the top of my list, as it has for some time. Going back through my earlier years, Mike and Ike candies have always been there to satisfy my sweet tooth. Movies, bus rides and driving to various vacation destinations with my family all have one commonality: I make sure that I have some Mike and Ike candy along. The value, taste, and flavors are all excellent. The addition of such flavors as Cherry Cola and the crème combinations were simply brilliant in my eyes. Hot Tamales are nearly a staple for my sister, and I, too, enjoy the cinnamon taste explosion found in every box of them!
I do have a few concerns with the direction I perceive the Just Born family to be taking the Mike and Ike franchise. First and foremost, I feel that several classic flavors have been wrongfully terminated. Lem and Mel and Cherry and Bub come to mind. Talking to a few friends, they remembered the aforementioned flavors and commented that they, too, missed them. I’m not familiar with the financial status of Just Born, but I feel that if flavors such as Buttered Popcorn can be added, the decadent combinations of lemon and melon as well as cherry and bubblegum should return to the line-up after spending so much undeserved time on the sidelines, if you will.
Reminiscing about Jolly Joes, I fondly recall how they were both united with Mike and Ike candies as well as apart from them. Primarily, I found it interesting that instead of the large Mike and Ike insignia, it said Jolly Joes with a smaller Mike and Ike below it, serving a secondary role. Jolly Joes deserve separate recognition, as they are the only candy in this genre to have a single flavor in a box (one may make the argument that Cherry Cola, for example, is a single flavor, but it is actually two: cherry and cola). On the new packaging of the candy, the jovial mascot one couples with Jolly Joes is nonexistent! This simply boggles my mind. From my viewpoint, it seems that the grape flavor is flourishing and should be given the status it deserves, the large Jolly Joe insignia written on the packaging and the return of Joe himself.
In regards to packaging, I was shocked to discover the implementation of plastic bags for the Mike and Ike candies at my local convenience mart. The classic look of boxed Mike and Ike flavors was a unique trademark held down by Just Born Inc. for as long as I can remember. The bags make the candy seem cheap and mass produced, stripping away the “hand-crafted” feel of the attractive looking boxes I have come to know, love, and expect from Just Born.
I wish to close with a quote I hope you will find pertinent to my comments regarding the flavor and box changes: "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." I feel that this quote by Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch has accurately depicted my sentiments to the changes I highlighted that Just Born Inc. has made over the last several years. Although I absolutely love the products that make up the Just Born family, I feel that “tough love” on my part may incite some change that will be for the better.
My absolute best regards,
Matthew J. Hoffman, Esquire"
~"Sparkle Sparkle" (my least common and least known nickname... I sense a strong positive correlation there. Someone run the numbers! But not Patrick, he already found me more information on owning and loving a monkey than everyone else put together!)
2 comments:
F the Mike and Ikes, i want swedish fish
I beg the differ pauly...Mike and Ikes are damn good, although i'd have to say the Tomales are my favorite...you can't beat that tongue burning, eye watering hot-cinnamon sensation in your mouth on longass roadies.
Goph
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