February 25, 2009
The Search for Answers Continues!
Hola friends!
Maybe you can help me out here.
Open up google, or your search engine of choice, and type in Cap Candy.
(I’m waiting, guys)
Ok. What do you see? Several links for retailers, online candy stores selling Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and the like, maybe an article or two about some interesting new product…But do you see what’s missing? I can find no contact information for Cap Candy. The only hit for a website, www.capcandy.com, just brings you to Hasbro’s home page, where there is no mention of Cap Candy.
To this date I have made three phone calls and sent one email to Hasbro, trying to find information on Cap. The first time I called I spoke with a woman who told me that yes, Cap was a licensee, but as they aren’t a subsidiary they aren’t obligated to follow Hasbro’s lovely rules of global business ethics, found here: http://www.hasbro.com/corporate/corporate-social-responsibility/Global-Manufacturing-Ethics-Principles.cfm. Please note that the first two rules are against forced labor and child labor respectively.
The second time I called I was told that yes, they are a licensee but that was all the information that was available.
By the third call, Cap Candy no longer seemed to be in the Hasbro directory of licensees.
An email, sent last week, expressing concerns over cocoa sourcing, has so far gone unanswered.
So what does this mean? That I need to go out a buy a chocolate frog because surely there is at least a customer service line listed on the packaging? (And there must be, right? What if people have questions about allergens?) I think the problem is a little more insidious. In this so-called age of information, what company doesn’t have a website? Cap clearly doesn’t want consumers contacting them. And why not? Don’t we have the right to know where our products come from? Why are we actively prevented from easy access to information that could be potentially be related to our health, not to mention our ethics?
The issue here is transparency. We have seen very clearly recently that a lack of knowledge about where our food products are sourced and the conditions they’re produced in can be dangerous. Just take peanuts for example. (And check out the good folks at Fair Food Fight – http://www.fairfoodfight.com/blog/el-drag%C3%B3n/kirk-smith-and-case-crappy-national-food-trough – for some interesting posts on that scandal.) I’d be willing to bet that at least one of you out there had a jar of Peter Pan brand peanut butter in your cabinet, a major brand that’s been linked to the salmonella outbreaks.
Aside from the ever pressing questions of “How the heck do I get in touch with Cap?” we also have to ask the big question:
What exactly is Warner Brother’s relationship with Cap? WB owns Harry’s name and all that fun merchandise., so what exactly is their relationship with Cap and Hasbro? While I can’t imagine that their business practices are the squeakiest and the cleanest, they probably wouldn’t be happy to hear about a connection between Harry’s name and slavery.
So if any of you happen to have a chocolate frog or other HP candy chilling on your desk, check the packaging and let me know if there’s a phone number there! We have the right to know where our chocolate comes from!
Karen
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http://yellowpages.superpages.com/ffile.jsp?SRC=comwp&C=Cap+Candy&STYPE=S&R=N&LID=2083766950&display=1
Is that the one?
Emmy
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If there’s a store nearby that sells HP candy, you could just go there, look at the number on the back, and write it down. You don’t have to actually BUY the candy to get the phone number.
Amanda
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Here’s a very old article (from 2000) that mentions the general manager of Cap Candy was Tom Pritchard. …though I can’t find anything with him either.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_23_41/ai_62918939
I’ll look at my bertie botts beans when I get home in case they have any info on Cap Candy.
Amanda
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…and a short update. Newer names. As of 2006/2007, there were “Bob Nations, vice president of global marketing and sales” and “Julie Nunn, director of marketing” going around to candy expo things.
And CAP stands for “Children at play”.
http://www.allbusiness.com/sector-31-33-manufacturing/food-manufacturing-sugar/1182914-1.html
Amanda
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…and I need to stop posting these all separately (and get back to work). This 2007 article shows that CAP candy seems to be part of the “Children at Play” division of Hasbro. And they hire out to candy companies to make the products. So it’s a higher up “company” name?
For instance, this article names the Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company, in partnership with Jelly Belly, as doing the jelly beans.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/318648/muggles_make_bertie_botts_every_flavor.html
Amanda
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Alright I know I said I’d stop but…
It’s located in Napa, CA (as of 1999 anyway). It shares its headquarters with OddzOn Toys (also Hasbro). And it works/worked closely with BAAT Enterprises.
And drum roll… A phone number!
(in here http://web.userinstinct.com/7955268-cap-candy.htm)
It won’t let me post it here. :p
I think it is the right place.
And now I REALLY do need to get back to work…
Vanessa
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A quote directly from the Cap Candy website.
“Q: Who works at CandyWarehouse.com?
A: CandyWarehouse.com is populated entirely by happy little elves that ran away from Santa Claus’s workshop, or as we like to call it, Mr. EvilBeard’s Horrorshop. We like it here because the uniform doesn’t require those uncomfortable pointy shoes. Plus, the weather in sunny California is much nicer than the weather at the North Pole.”
And the contact information at the bottom of the page.
Please contact us with any questions, suggestions, or comments:
CandyWarehouse.com, Inc.
5314 Third Street
Irwindale, CA 91706-2060
Tel: 626-480-0899
Fax: 626-480-0818
Here is the web address in case you needn’t:
http://www.candywarehouse.com/faq.html
I hope this helps!
Vanessa
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A quote directly from the Cap Candy website.
“Q: Who works at CandyWarehouse.com?
A: CandyWarehouse.com is populated entirely by happy little elves that ran away from Santa Claus’s workshop, or as we like to call it, Mr. EvilBeard’s Horrorshop. We like it here because the uniform doesn’t require those uncomfortable pointy shoes. Plus, the weather in sunny California is much nicer than the weather at the North Pole.”
Pat
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@Vanessa, I don’t think CandyWarehouse.com has anything to do with CAP. They look to just be distributors, not manufacturers. From the FAQ section of CandyWarehouse.com:
“Q: The website says you sell jelly beans in a fifty-pound case, but I only want eleven pounds. Will you send me a smaller quantity?
A: Sorry, but we aren’t licensed by the health department to open cases. All candy is shipped just the way we receive it from the manufacturer- we can’t break open cases.”
Deep Throat
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(215) 735-5200
Deep Throat
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“Julie Nunn, director of marketing for Cap Candy”
Pat
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Did some more research and it looks like Hasbro is giving you the run around. The articles Amanda posted in 3 and 4 list Cap Candy as a division of Hasbro. Add on top of that the Yellow Pages listing of Cap Candy in Philadelphia who’s domain is listed as hasbro.com and the fact that the capcandy.com domain is owned by hasbro (according to the whois data) all seem to point to the fact that Cap Candy has more then just a licensor/licensee relationship with hasbro.
But I did a bit more searching and it looks like the people who you got in contact with over the phone weren’t lying. Since Hasbro is a publicly traded company, I was able to pull up the annual report their required to file with the FCC (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=68329&p=irol-sec&secCat01.1_rs=1&secCat01.1_rc=10). The 2008 and 2009 report doesn’t list Cap Candy as a subsidiary, nor does Hasbro claim to have any establishments in PA (where Cap Candy seems to be located). So, while the two companies are joined at the hip, they are two separate companies.
An amusing side note, it turns out that third-party manufacturers still need to follow the Global Ethics Guidelines, but you said licensees don’t. Am I the only one that finds this position quit silly?
I hope you got somewhere with those candy wrappers because it doesn’t look like Hasbro has any knowledge Cap Candy exist.
Bobby
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Well, I (finally) found a scan of the BACK of a Cap Candy Chocolate Frogs card: http://www.geocities.com/jillari1/us_frogpack.gif
However, it’s pretty small, but I’m gonna poke around in GIMP and see what I can make out.
Vanessa
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CandyWarehouse.com may be a good place to start, because they do not seen to be hiding their contact information. They might have the number of someone at Cap Candy, it’s worth a try!
I think they are Cap Candy’s warehouse, at least that’s what it looks like on their website If that’s true, then they should have some once number.
Bobby
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I sent an e-mail to a man who used to work at Cap Candy, just asking for an email address or phone number or something for Cap Candy, and received a response entirely made up of questions – “Who are you? What business are you in?” etc. Shady…
Bobby
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Also, this “Cap Candy” place: http://www.superpages.com/bp/San-Diego-CA/Cap-Candy-Mex-L0130640232.htm
has a phone number which, according to the robot voice lady, “has been disconnected. We’re sorry. Please hang up and try again.”
Bobby
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Sorry for posting multiple times but guess what? I LOVE Candy Warehouse! You wanna know why? Within 3 minutes of me picking up the phone, I had been given a number to try for CAP Candy!
Interestingly enough, the lady had to go digging for it, because it wasn’t present in her regular list of phone numbers…
Oh, and the number is:
707 251 9321
Bobby
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Actually, that number appears to be a residence number. However, through some google searching, it was indeed once the phone number for a Cap Candy, however, if it’s THE Cap Candy is unknown.
Another phone number I will try, that is most likely not a residence:
(800) 242-7276
Bobby
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Thaaaaaat’s actually Hasbro’s number. They get off early on Fridays. Huh.
Oh, and if you want me to shut up, just say it. *sweatdrop*
Amanda
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I sent some updates in email (since I couldn’t post here for some reason) but here is something for you… Off the back of a Bertie Bott’s bean box. (Say that 3 times fast!)
It lists Jelly Belly, CAP Candy and Hasbro. It says says it is a product of the USA. And it says the CAP Candy logo is trademark of OddzOn Inc. So maybe we should look them up. (They seem to share a main headquarters in Napa, CA.)
Bobby
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Napa, you say? Well that’s interesting, because check out what I found…
http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/dnb2/011275143
However, I think that’s a dead end, because I talked to a person who used to work for Cap Candy, and he had this to say:
“Regarding Cap Candy: sadly Hasbro sold the brands to Frankford Candy – Philadelphia, PA, approximately 2 years ago. All of the Cap Candy employees and headquarters are now gone. They no longer make any Spin Pops, the China factory that was making them decided that they would no longer produce them. The only brand that still is being sold is the Harry Potter candies.”
So, it seems like Frankford Candy is who we want to look into…
Grace
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I managed to get my hands on a chocolate frog, and Bobby’s right. While the logo for CAP candy is still on the back, so is this info:
“Distributed by Frankford Candy & Chocolate Co., Philadelphia, PA 19114 USA. http://www.frankfordcandy.com MADE IN THE USA.”
Grace
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Me again… a quick perusal of the site seems to provide an email address (info@frankfordcandy.com) as well as a mailing address where they “welcome questions”: Frankford Candy and Chocolate Company, Inc.
9300 Ashton Road
Philadelphia, PA 19114-5200
Hope this helps!
trypu
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all in one search engine
http://trypu.com