Author: Trailblaze Marketing

Asher’s had a year like no other during 2020. While some not so sweet things were happening, we made the most of it by giving back through community engagement. As a caring member of our hometown, we wanted to show our support the best way we know how…chocolate! This is how we ‘sprung’ into action in 2020! 

Essential Workers for the WIN!

Health care personnel, medical response teams, and emergency workers were on the front lines of 2020. We couldn’t have survived without their dedication to keeping our communities safe; so, Asher’s wanted to pay it forward with chocolate covered creations!

Our first order of business was to thank the heroes at Einstein Health Philadelphia. There was no better gift than an assortment of Mini Cups. We delivered hundreds of cases of Mini Cups via Asher’s Truck, to the hardworking Team in Philadelphia. Doctors, nurses, staff, and associates received delicious confections with a special message to thank them for their work during our greatest time of need.

Next on the donation route was a stop at Suburban Community Hospital and Grand View Hospital. While summer plans changed for everyone, Asher’s was determined to make the sun shine for those who were saving the day. It was full speed ahead as the Asher’s Truck raced to Abington- Lansdale Hospital Jefferson Health for a sweet surprise. The Asher’s Donation Team was meet with warm smiles as we unloaded pounds of chocolate at each location.

Elmwood Park Zoo’s Wild Trial

After a summer storm destroyed our neighbor’s Zoo, we knew we couldn’t just sit by idly. The storm flooded Most of the facility, causing giant trees to land on animal displays. Thankfully, the staff safely moved all animals; but, to return to their homes, major renovation was required.

To help fundraising efforts, Asher’s donated treats to add into snack packs for volunteers. Our Chester’s Critters make the most perfect confection because who can resist chocolate smothered animal crackers! Our Zoo friends were so grateful for our contribution, they invited members of the Asher’s team feed the giraffes!     

Cans Because We Care

Manna on Main Street is a local food bank near our Souderton factory. So, when Asher’s Associates decided to organize a food drive to help the less fortunate, Manna on Main Street was the best choice! The drive started before Thanksgiving. We extended collections due to the popularity to gather even more essential items. Asher’s donated over 1,000lbs of goods over the span of the drive!

Our Lewistown facility also participated in the drive by donating over 75lbs of food during December. The staff decided unanimously to donate the food to the homeless shelter of Lewistown. In addition to food, one Lewistown associate brought in mugs filled with peppermint candy. Imagine the glee that the people felt on Christmas morning when the mugs and food were distributed to them! We even received a letter of gratitude from the shelter manager which was share with all!

Let’s not forget the power of neighborhood commitment, community engagement, and chocolate to get us through hard times. Asher’s looks forward to another year of working with our extended family for the greater good!

Inspired by the desire for gold standard offerings with exceptional taste & of superb quality, Asher’s Chocolate Co. and Boardroom Spirits crafted a one of a kind gift set. Two local favorites, making one phenomenal, irresistible creation and chocolate collaboration.

Neighbors Working Together

To start, chocolate forms the best relationships, and that’s exactly where this story begins. Asher’s and Boardroom Spirits are in the same Philadelphia suburban neighborhood, so it’s no wonder fate brought the two together. It all started when an owner of Boardroom Spirits, in Lansdale, had a craving for his favorite chocolate covered pretzels. Upon seeing all the scrumptious confections in our candy cases, an idea sparked!

Cocktail Creativity

Boardroom’s expert team of cocktail wizards dreamt up two classic cocktails with chocolaty twists. The first cocktail is a Nutty Russian, and it is made with Boardroom’s signature distilled vodka, liqueur and coffee. The second ready to sip cocktail is an easy to enjoy Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Martini. Freshly pressed coffee comes to life when swirled with notes of hazelnut and strong vodka.

As soon as Asher’s expert chocolatiers taste the drinks, each unanimously agree Asher’s Milk Chocolate Espresso Truffles and Hazelnut Figaros will couple sinfully well together. Imagine sweetly flavored chocolate pieces, crafted with excellence in mind. While sipping a rich, hazelnut coffee infused beverage, a bite of truffle only elevates the deliciousness. And, it’s nuts how perfectly Boardroom’s Nutty Russian and creamy hazelnut confection pair.

Get Yours Gifts

Overall, the newly released gift bundle includes 1 Ready to Enjoy Cocktail, 2 Branded Cocktail Glasses, 4 Figaro Truffles and 4 Espresso Truffles. This gift set can even be delivered to your door. It’s as easy as ordering online and waiting for a special delivery to arrive straight to you. Boardroom Spirits online website is convenient to browse and choose between many signature cocktails. This Asher’s gift set just happens to be our absolute favorite chocolate collaboration. Because, who can resist a wonderful pairing of booze and chocolate. Cheers to a partnership we know only great things will come from!

While 2020 was a year like no other, Asher’s remained resolute in our promise to stay involved in our community. Throughout 2020, we participated in plenty of sweet 2020 events that made it a memorable year for all involved!

Donations for Essential Workers

The real MVPs of 2020 were frontline heroes and essential workers. While these strong individuals worked tirelessly to help our community, we knew our neighbors could use a sugar rush. So, Asher’s did what we do best…share chocolate confections for instant smiles.

Local organizations, such as Abington Lansdale Hospital Jefferson Health, Grand View Hospital and Suburban Community Hospital shared donations of scrumptious confections with doctors, nurses and staff. The Einstein Team in Philadelphia enjoyed bags of our popular Mini Cups. It was a real surprise when the Asher’s Truck pulled up with a delivery.

Chocolate Thunder Race Night

In the summer, Asher’s geared up for fast night of fun at the MCQMRC with the Official Asher’s Race Car Driver of 5M M&M Racing! Our driver raced into first place while fans cheered him on during Asher’s Night at the track. To keep everyone fueled, Asher’s handed out swag bags of chocolate pretzels. It’s always fun to watch Chocolate Thunder leave the competition in its chocolate dust.

QVC Exclusives

Lights, camera, action and chocolate craze! Asher’s continued our television run with an exclusive offer for QVC’s Christmas in July. Our chocolate factory was filled with the holiday spirit, while in advance of the season. Our gift set included, Hot Cocoa Caramels, Red Velvet Trees, Peppermint Patties, Peppermint Pals, and dreamy Marshmallow pieces. This special offer debuted in a regular and sugar free offer, to include everyone on your gift list. Truly magical!

Elmwood Park Zoo is Wild for Asher’s

Too bad animals can’t enjoy chocolate, but that doesn’t stop Asher’s from partnering with our friends at Elmwood Park Zoo. Being a staple in the community, the Zoo attracts local families to enjoy a day of wonder. To keep children and parents alike ready to keep up with the crazy animals, Elmwood offers Asher’s perfectly themed treats. Friends enjoyed snack boxes of Chester’s Critters at Elmwood Park Zoo and Brew and Wild Lights Events. How perfect that our chocolate treats match the festivities!

We cannot wait to see what 2021 has in store for us. Asher’s will always be your favorite, local candy shop. No matter what this year has in store, Asher’s will be here for your sugar craving.

At Asher’s Chocolate Co., we believe that chocolate tastes even sweeter during the holiday season. There’s just something about the twinkling lights, hanging ornaments, and enjoying festive confectionary goodies that we absolutely love. In the spirit of creating a winter wonderland, we reimagined some of our Christmas chocolate boxes and other gift items for this year.  

Holiday 8pc. Boxes

Firstly, create an assortment of delicious treats with Asher’s new 8pc. holiday themed boxes. We selected classic favorites of Milk Chocolate Cherry Cordials and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels, wrapped them in stunning red and green boxes, to make easy hostess gifts. And, best of all this new packaging perfectly compliments our existing seasonal boxes filled with Milk Chocolate Butter Rum Caramels and Dark Chocolate Bourbon Caramels. Not only do the flavors give you warm fuzzy feelings, the delightful packaging enhances everything! Stack a tower of these boxes for a cheery holiday surprise. You’ll be ready for all holiday party invites!  

Snowflake Boxes

Additionally, inspired by snowy winter days, our whimsically designed Snowflake Boxes make the perfect additions to any festive celebration. Craving a deliciously wide variety of Asher’s most scrumptious treats? Our new Snowflake Milk and Dark Chocolate Assortment Boxes come packed with 7oz. of sweet confectionary pieces. Enjoy cherry cordials, creams, truffles, and nonpareils that taste lovely.     

Make gifting even grander by adding Snowflake Mini Cups Assortment Boxes to your wish list. Our unique flavors of Mini Cups like Maple Bacon, Peanut Butter & Marshmallow, Caramel & Marshmallow and Cinnamon Bun are the surprise anyone would love to have waiting under their tree. 

Milk and Dark Assortment Gold Box

You’ve struck chocolate gold with this new assortment that will shine under Christmas lights. We crafted this 14.6oz Milk and Dark Chocolate Assortment with all the sparkle and delight of the holiday season in mind. Out of town guests will enjoy local, favorite treats awaiting their arrival. There is something for every chocolate lover, like nutty classics, soft jellies, and sweet favorites. Whether you keep this gift for yourself or share it, this box is made to impress.

The enchantment of the holiday’s lives in the air at Asher’s even after the snow begins to melt. As a 5^th generation candy company, we’re committed to making sure that your family’s holidays are as sweet as can be. That’s because there is a little bit of magic in everything we do!

As a 5^th generation candy family, we understand the pleasures enjoyed during the holiday season. Old friends warmly reconnect, families gather and festive desserts pile high on kitchen tables. Asher’s Chocolate Co. creates a tasty variety of Thanksgiving candy treats made to enhance the sweetness of any celebration.

Milk or Dark Chocolate 2lb. Pretzel Piece Pails

Expecting to host a large hungry crowd this season? Asher’s chocolate smothered pretzels are addictively delicious. So, to satisfy your party’s sweet tooth, try Asher’s Pretzel Piece Tubs. Available in milk or dark chocolate, to please every chocolate lover, each tub holds a whopping 2lbs. of chocolaty pretzel pieces. You can reuse Asher’s branded tubs to save holiday leftovers once you devour the goodies inside. That is, assuming you have any tasty food left after welcoming everyone! 

Freshpack Gifts

Looking to bring a hostess gift designed specially to impress any dessert loving bunch? Asher’s Freshpacks make a go-to gift to give to a busy party thrower. Our Freshpack containers keep treats in perfect condition since each pack is easily resealable. A host can enjoy a quick treat from this pack as a sugar rush before the party begins; or, can save these goodies to be enjoyed after the guests have left! Our Freshpacks labels were redesigned this season, making it even easier to gift, since you don’t even have to wrap these presents.

Festive Moulds

Enhance your table setting with themed chocolate treats! Asher’s Lewistown location is known for their unique capability of crafting chocolate moulded pieces. Just imagine how brilliant your table décor will look enhanced with edible chocolate turkeys and chocolate tractor lollipops. As a treat to save for later, guests can enjoy a surprise take home goodie to keep the celebration going.

When you enjoy an Asher’s Thanksgiving candy, you are joining our extended family. So, we craft each confection with your holiday delight in mind. With so many tasty options to pick, we hope you fill your table with Asher’s chocolates. 

For over 120 years, Asher’s Chocolate Co. has been crafting gold standard confections. It all started in 1892 with our founder Chester A. Asher and his passion for creating delicious confections. Now running 5 generations strong, our candy making family continues Chester’s legacy by still creating treats using his original, top-secret chocolate recipe. However, in the spirit of perfection, we never stop taste testing our pieces to ensure you are always getting the best from us. Check out just some of the classic candy recipes we’ve reimagined for even more sweetness!

Buttercream Dreams

For a timelessly tasty piece, Asher’s Milk and Dark Chocolate Buttercreams are a sweet escape into bliss. Our signature milk and dark chocolate shells now hold an even creamier and more buttery filling that perfectly resembles the buttercream icing on your favorite cake.   Imagine taking a smooth and rich treat and making it even more sinful. That’s exactly what we did when we recreated this classic piece. Not only does this piece taste divine, it almost looks too pretty to enjoy with delicate white string accenting the cocoa color shells.

Raspberry Truffles  

Asher’s is known for our truffles! Not our furry friend Truffle Asher, but our royally  crowned confections! Brought back by popular demand, we revisited our Raspberry Truffle recipe. Inspired by farm fresh raspberries, our confection chefs recreated the tastes of sweet, ripe Raspberries. This reintroduced truffle is a popular hit for those who enjoy fruity chocolate flavors.

Funnier Fudges

Our confectionary magicians made some serious magic happen when they began experimenting with Asher’s Fudge formulas. New recipe alerts updated fudge fans of the enhancements we made to our Death by Chocolate and Peanut Butter Explosion Fudge.

Our Death by Chocolate Fudge is now even richer and more chocolaty. We sweeten deep, dark chocolate fudge with the bonus of mini white chocolate drops scattered atop. For nutty confection friends, our reinvented Peanut Butter Explosion Fudge boasts chunks of peanuts and is topped with mini peanut butter chips.

As we continue to dream of ways to make our treats even more scrumptious, one thing remains true. We promise that you will always taste the love mixed into every sweet we create with our classic candy recipes. What new treat are you tempted to try now?

Back to school and work season looks different this year, but Asher’s is set for a spectacular September thanks to our Sanitation Manager, Employee Highlight Dennis Keough! Dennis is showing something we’ve always known to be true about his dedication. He’s committed to making and keeping Asher’s the best and safest place to work.

Where it All Started

Firstly, Dennis joined the Asher’s team on August 23, 1982. At that time, we were still located in our original factory in Germantown, PA. In the beginning, third-generation Jack Asher worked closely with Dennis helping him gain valuable experience in the chocolate factory. The first several years working at Asher’s, Jack taught Dennis how to cook and create Almond Butter Crunch and all the flavors of our delicious Fudge. Dennis was such a natural in the confection kitchen, he even worked on the old starch buck pulling jellies, caramels and marshmallow.

Dennis enjoyed learning from Jack so much that he decided to attend the RCI Candy School program in Erie, PA. There he gained an incredible amount of techniques to expand on his “hands on” experience at Asher’s. Subsequently, Dennis worked his way up after this invaluable growth opportunity to be a supervisor in multiple different departments! He assisted in organizing the shut down and relocation efforts from Germantown to our current plant in Montgomery County. He was even there at our Souderton facility groundbreaking, helping to oversee the whole production!

All in a Day’s Work

In order to keep Asher’s running at tip top shape, Dennis has his work cut out for him! His daily tasks include maintaining the sanitation schedule, meeting sanitation needs of the entire Souderton facility. This includes the manufacturing floor, shipping department, sales department offices and outside areas and overseeing the washout change overs. According to Dennis, there’s nothing like the satisfaction of a successful enrobing machine wash out and changeover to make sure the machines are ready to create the next delicious confection. It’s a lot to juggle, but Dennis has years of skill and expert knowledge. This makes him the perfect person to oversee such important functions. Dennis has been part of the family for over 35 years! He loves interacting with enrober operators, packers, maintenance team, shipping department and everyone who’s been part of his Asher’s journey!

Free Time Fun

Overall, Dennis doesn’t let a hard day’s work slow him down on the weekends. Recently, Dennis welcomed the birth of his first grandchild, McKenna, who he loves to hold and take for walks with his wife Jeanne and daughter Caitlin.

When he’s not spoiling his precious granddaughter, Employee Highlight Dennis will kick back and enjoy following all the Philadelphia sports teams, especially the Phillies & the Eagles.

Dennis, having you as a member of our Asher’s crew for 38 years has made our team the strongest it can be. You always show up, give 110% and made us smile with your hysterical stories from Germantown days. Thanks for making our family the best it can be!

Summer is sweeter with Chocolates, and we believe everyone deserves a share of Summertime happiness! But as September temperatures climb the thermostat, you might be wondering how Asher’s can continue to deliver the best quality Chocolates directly to your doorstep. We’ve taken steps to implement a new and improved shipping chocolate method that’s good for our Chocolates, good for our environment, and even better for you!

Keeping Chocolates Cool in Warm Weather

Without further ado, introducing ALL NEW Foil Bags for Ice-Packed Shipments to 1- and 2-Day Ship Points! We’ve shared secrets in the past about How to Keep Your Chocolates from Losing Their Cool, but nothing is as exciting as Asher’s latest project. This new method keeps your candy order in perfect condition, avoiding melting or blooming.

Environmental Benefits

Not only will your candy be delivered in mint condition with this latest improvement, but the environment will benefit as well! By using foil bags on all ice-packed orders going to 1- and 2-day ship points, we can replace the previously-used Styrofoam liners. This change is eco-friendly and even allows us to use smaller cases when shipping to closer areas! To learn about Asher’s continued “Green Efforts” , check out our website and previous blogs to join the movement for delicious “green chocolate.”

A Sweet Win for You

What does this improvement mean for you, our loyal Asher’s customer? No more sweating if your Asher’s order was shipped safely. Asher’s takes special care of shipping your chocolate to areas with temperatures above 68 degrees by carefully packing them with reusable ice packs in an insulated case.

At Asher’s we believe Chocolate is extremely precious cargo, meant to be handle with only the finest of care. With the introduction of ALL NEW Foil Bags we are continuing our commitment to gifting you the best tasting Chocolates ever. To get all of your favorites, give us a call at 855-8-ASHERS, or visit us online!

As summer begins to wind down, it’s time for us to share an Asher’s teammate whose hard work never ends. This August, we’d like to introduce Patrick Stroup as our Employee Highlight. Unlike summer fun that fades away, employee highlight Patrick never stops giving his all!

Journey with Asher’s

Patrick started his journey with Asher’s on January 5^th, 2004.  He was given the responsibility of developing a lot traceability database. It wasn’t long until Asher’s realized the exceptionally skilled worker they had found in Patrick; so, within a few months he was promoted to the title of Assistant Plant Manager. On the administrative end of this role, Patrick was responsible for inventory control and purchasing.

His current title is Purchasing Manager for both Souderton and Lewistown facilities. Patrick oversees Lewistown’s inventory control and the Lewistown shipping department. Now 16 years later, Patrick is considered the pro in all things Asher’s related!

Day to Day Tasks

Just like the summer sun, employee highlight Patrick starts his day bright and early around 7:00am. He uses this time in the morning to review any outstanding emails, and then quickly switches to purchasing and inventory management. Patrick reviews all warehouses daily, utilizing Ross’s MRP data (Material Requirements Planning). This system ensures that he accurately determines what to order, when to order it, and how much to order.

In this role, Patrick works closely with the planners from both plants to ensure we have proper stock on all materials needed for production. All this planning is no small task, but as an organized and efficient Manager, Patrick is always up for the challenge!

Satisfaction Guaranteed

After 16 years of growing with Asher’s, Patrick has become an integral part of the team. He shares that he gains the most satisfaction from working with such a great group of people, both in Lewistown and Souderton, who all share the common goal of making the best tasting products of the highest quality to satisfy our many customers. Patrick finds it rewarding watching the team work together, since each member has a part to play, it’s great when everything comes together!

Free Time

Patrick makes time to relax by spending his free time at his family cabin with their dog Mattie, family members, and friends. He’s put on grill duty because he enjoys cooking, especially barbecuing on one of his various smokers. When at home, Patrick enjoys sitting around the fire ring with family, watching the deer in the farmer’s fields that border his home.

Thank you for all you do to keep operations running smoothly at Asher’s, Patrick! Our team wouldn’t be as strong without your expert knowledge and capabilities. Asher’s is lucky to have you as a member of our family!