GooGoo Cluster

Food Blog South

2012-01-25T10:15:00.001-05:00

We're excited to be a sponsor of FoodBlog South this weekend, a food blogging conference in Birmingham, Alabama!

Not only are we looking forward to eating lots of amazing Southern food, but also sharing our favorite Southern confection, the Goo Goo Cluster, with the many incredible food bloggers in attendance!

Our Year's Worth of Goo Goo Winner

2012-01-13T10:00:00.001-05:00

Meet Molly, the lucky winner of our Year's Worth of Goo Goo Clusters Giveaway!

She just received her first shipment of candy this week, and kindly shared her joy with us by sending these pics.

We love that you're so happy Molly, and hope that you enjoy every one of your 365 Clusters you'll be receiving this year!

Collinwood Middle School Geography Class Goes Goo Goo!

2012-01-04T16:54:00.002-05:00

In support of Geography Awareness Week's "Adventures in Your Community" theme, Collinwood Middle School teacher Sherri Collie recently taught a lesson on Tennessee businesses.

As a part of the lesson, her 7th grade students were tasked with creating ads for businesses in the state, including Goo Goo Clusters! She was kind enough to share some photos with us, so I thought I'd share a few with you.

We're glad to hear that not only did the Goo Goos bring back special memories for the older people of the school and for their visitors, but we've also created some young new Goo Goo fans!

Hurry! Get Your Holiday Orders In!

2011-12-16T10:20:00.001-05:00

If you've ordered from our online store in the past, you may remember that we only shipped on Wednesdays. Well, starting this week, we're shipping daily until December 22nd to meet the holiday shopping demand!

Still trying to come up with a great idea for friends, family, co-workers, and clients? Goo Goo Clusters make the perfect gift.

Order soon so they have a chocolate treat waiting under their tree on Christmas morning!

www.googoostore.com

Win A Year's Worth of Goo Goo Clusters!

2011-12-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

Yes, you read that correctly - a year's worth of chocolatey goodness could be yours!

This week we've got a contest happening where you can enter to win 365 Goo Goo Clusters to be delivered to your door. Don't worry, we won't drop them on you all at one time. Once per quarter you'll receive a shipment so you are sure to have enough to satisfy you until this time next year. How does that sound?

All you have to do is "like" us on Facebook to enter. It's that simple!

The contest ends this Saturday, December 10th, so don't hesitate another second-- do it now by clicking here!

Holiday Shopping in the GooGoo Store

2011-11-22T08:23:00.025-05:00

Did you know that GooGoo Cluster has its own online store? In addition to being able to get your favorite candy shipped direct to your doorstep, now you can even buy GooGoo gear!

Many of you have told us that you'd like to have shirts, mugs, hats, and other items that declare your love for the GooGoo, so we listened and delivered.

Start your holiday shopping now for the GooGoo fan in your life (or maybe add a few items to your OWN Christmas list)! You can find something for mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and even baby. Seriously, you have to see how cute the little onesies and toddler tees are!!

We'd love for you to do some shopping in our store this weekend, so to show our thanks to you on this Thanksgiving holiday, we're offering 20% off all apparel and collectibles from 11/22 until 11/27. All you have to do is enter the promo code Turkey20 at checkout!

Enter to Win Goo Goo's SEC Football Championship Trip Giveaway

2011-10-31T11:37:00.001-04:00

We're giving away an all-expenses paid trip to the 2011 SEC Football Championship! The prize includes 2 round trip tickets to Atlanta, 2 night's hotel accommodations, 2 tickets to the SEC Football Championship game and Fan Fare Party, luxury transportation, and a $250 Visa debit card!

To enter, all you have to do is click here and "like" us on Facebook. It's really that simple. So go ahead, what are you waiting for?!

For the official rules visit: http://www.googoo.com/misc/sec-trip-give-away/

Sugar Rush - October 27th

2011-10-20T07:27:00.002-04:00

We'll be one of several Nashville confectioners at the first ever Sugar Rush next week!

For only $10, your ticket will get you two (2) drink tickets and as many sweets as you can possibly eat. Come see us!

Hurry and get your ticket though, because they are selling fast! Click here for more information and to purchase.

Behind the Scenes

2011-10-12T08:40:00.008-04:00

Have you ever wondered who the person is behind the brands you love? Personally, I like to know that there is a live soul and not just a logo, so that's why I'm here today.

There is a new face behind the scenes here at Goo Goo Cluster, and her name is Beth. Otherwise known as me!

I'm the new Senior Marketing Manager for Goo Goo, so, for the most part, I'm the one that will be writing these blog posts, Tweeting, and interacting with you on Facebook.

That's me in the photo above, working the table at the Southern Artisan Cheese Festival a couple of weeks ago.

A big hello to all of you! I look forward to hearing from you and creating some fun around here for all to enjoy in the coming months. Stay tuned....

Photo credit: Ron Manville

Nashville Predators Goo Goo Goal

2011-10-07T06:45:00.005-04:00

You can feel it in the air. It's hockey time!

Tonight the Predators hit the ice for the start of the 2011-12 season, and Goo Goo Cluster is now a part of the action!

In addition to hockey, Nashville Predators fans who attend home games this season have something else to get excited about. If any Predators player scores a goal in the final one (1) minute of the second period of a home game, all fans in attendance will receive a voucher for a FREE Goo Goo Cluster!

The name for this? Why, it's a Goo Goo Goal!

For more info and participating retailers, visit our website.

Introducing the Goo Goo Finder iPhone App

2011-09-19T14:37:00.000-04:00

The #1 most oft asked question we get here at headquarters is "Where can I find Goo Goo Clusters?"

Our website already sports a user-friendly store locator, but now we've added another fun way for fans to locate their favorite treat. Please allow me to introduce the Goo Goo Finder, our very first iPhone application!

Available free through the iTunes App Store, the simple application uses Map View, List View or Augmented Reality to point the user toward the nearest Cluster.

The app is easy to find. Simply visit the iTunes store and type "Goo Goo Finder" in the search bar or access directly by clicking this link.

Happy Goo Goo hunting!

Candy! Candy! Everywhere!

2011-06-01T19:35:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that a week ago today I was in Chicago at the NCA's Sweet & Snack Expo 2011. Things are moving at a brisk clip in Goo Goo Land. This was my second trip in as many years to the Show and I'm amazed at the size of the show and the amount of candy that is on display. Still, this is a trade show and as such, it was important for us to beat the drum and let folks know that we're back. New packaging, new ingredient declaration, new sustainability focus - we're old, but we're new!

We had a great show and had substantive conversations with several large U.S. retailers and distributors as well as some exciting conversations with exporters that wanted to take Goo Goo Clusters to Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan. It was fun to think about the international Goo Goo Cluster but the truth is, my focus at this show was on just finding some solid distributors to help us grow our base in the Southeast. Strangely, I seemed to make better distributor connections with companies based pretty much everywhere else in the U.S. Northeast? Check. Southwest? Check. Northwest? Check. Great Lakes/Midwest? Check. Obviously, this is good news if you live in one of those parts of the country. Still, as we move toward Goo Goo Cluster's centennial next year, it is massively important to me that we get better market penetration into the Southeast; our home base.

The people at the show - trade industry peers: buyers, brokers, distributors, vendors, writers, etc. - that stopped by our booth had really encouraging things to say about the new packaging and the taste of the product. As far as increasing our opportunities to find more retailers who want to sell Goo Goos, I've got a pocketful of business cards of interested buyers so I feel good about that aspect of the show too. I guess one negative aspect of the show is the way it separates the haves from the have nots. The Mars/Wrigley "booth" is the size of a football field. It's funny to me that the big guys want to have these ostentatious displays when the reality is, their products are already ubiquitous in the marketplace. Like one sales guy from the Big Three said to me, "if we have to come to this show to sell then we're clearly doing something wrong already". Must be nice.

We had a lil' 10' x 10' booth (the smallest booth size the NCA lets you buy to exhibit) but we probably did as much business as anybody at the show. A lot of these irons are in the fire so we'll know in the coming months what truly transpired but a quick round of Monday Morning Quarterback this week in the office left me optimistic that the trip to Chi-town was worth it. Oh, and check the photo of me standing next to our Wild Goo Goo mascot. (If you didn't see her in action in the Show Flash Mob you should check this out).

One way you will know that things went well is if you can find product closer to where you live than you could previously. How, you might ask will you be able to do this? Ah, that will be the subject of my next blog. Stay tuned!

Eat, Write, Retreat 2011

2011-05-22T18:06:00.000-04:00

The last time Standard Candy had any real spend for marketing Goo Goo Clusters was sometime early in the last decade. Needless to say, when you stop getting in front of people you tend to slip from the public consciousness and we certainly felt that these last few years. That is why in 2010 when I set about trying to revitalize this historic brand I advocated marketing programs that went beyond simply giving away candy (albeit, an important part of the process now that we've got a superior product for people to taste).

One thing I had not anticipated when I took over day-to-day responsibility for the Goo Goo brand was the number of solicitations I would field. There seems to be an endless number of concert series, county fairs, food expos, sports teams, civic events, etc that are all looking for sponsors and in Tennessee, a brand with the rich history of Goo Goo Cluster seems often enough on the minds of folks looking for financial help with their respective interest. Add in a little press about a concerted revitalization effort in say, The Tennessean and my phone started blowing up.

Many events seem reasonable enough to sponsor - especially when all a group wants is product to distribute into event swag bags. However, we're running a business and anytime I agree to give away candy I'm taking revenue out of not only our pocket but the retailers who are our partners. This past week I was approached by a civic group in Nashville that wanted me to donate a "few thousand" bars for an event that will be mostly held downtown. We had been involved in the past but I felt it was unfair to our retailers on lower Broadway that make their living selling to tourists to simply give away candy to out-of-towners that would likely be glad to pay for it. I told the woman in charge that I would rather buy an ad in her program than give away Goo Goo Clusters because even though the cost to advertise may cost more than giving away candy, the benefit to my retailers would be significant (i.e., no lost sales and advertising for those same retailers). She said she would call me in January about next year and I've no doubt she will.

So where should one spend their marketing dollars? After attending my first blogger retreat this weekend I can say that one would be hard pressed to find a better ROI than sponsoring one of these events. The inaugural, Eat, Write, Retreat was the brainchild of Casey Benedict and Robyn Webb and was held at The Madison Hotel in Washington D.C. the last three days. Attendees - some with as many as 10,000 followers were almost all food bloggers or food photographers of some fashion or other hailing from places like Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Canada, the Carolinas - even Houston, TX. These people share a love of food that is so intense that they all right about it in some form or another, photograph it and publish it online. Quite simply, these are the tastemakers (pun intended!) that sit out on the frontline of the food world, reporting back what is great, good, average or poor. I couldn't think of a better platform for us to showcase our revamped products. As a sponsor of the event we participated in a tasting on Friday night wherein we fielded questions from the attendees and were able to tell them about the ingredient upgrades that we've made to the products this past year as well as the sustainability measures we've implemented. It was an engaging process and one that validated my decision to sponsor the event.

We also sponsored an attendee, Beth Sachan, who is a Nashville-based food blogger who went to EWR11 as an "ambassador" to Goo Goo Cluster. Beth did a great job of bridging the gap between the corporate and blogger world's and really helped make the attendees feel comfortable with what Goo Goo was about and what we were doing at the event. I'm grateful for participation on our behalf and I'm sure we'll find ways to keep working with her in the future.

That's it for now. Off to Chicago in the morning for the Sweet & Snack Expo 2011 - an all together different kind of event that I'll post about next week.

Tap Tap is this thing on?

2011-04-26T15:57:00.000-04:00

In an effort to keep friends and fans of Goo Goo Cluster abreast of what is happening in Goo Goo World we offer this blog. I will be posting here from time to time about different events that Goo Goo is involved in, promotions that may be happening or just general ramblings and musings about the candy industry and our little sliver in that universe. This is my first post - and really just a test to make sure that it links properly to our new website that is up in soft launch mode at www.googoo.com. I'll be back soon with something more substantive soon.

Go Get A Goo Goo!
Lance Paine, EVP
Goo Goo Cluster, LLC