Who's A Smartie Now? {An Interview With Smarties} #IamASmartie

If you take the time to visit the Smarties website, you'll find out a lot about the company's history and also other little tidbits of information that can be fun trivia to learn. For example, do you know what flavor each different color tablet is? Here's a hint:

White = Orange/Cream

Yellow = Pineapple

Pink = Cherry

Green = Strawberry

Purple = Grape

Orange = Orange

Anyway, I wanted to get information from Sarah and Liz Dee at Smarties on things I didn't see on the website. I feel honored to have had a Skype interview with them. I asked 3 questions and received thoughtful and honest answers. {Psst...hop over and give Ellen a visit as well for even more questions/answers.}

Question #1: In the YouTube video interview I posted, Eddie Dee spoke of the family continuing to take the business to the next plateau. What does the "next plateau" look like for the generations who currently run the company?

Answer: It's really important to them that they stay true to their roots, stay competitively priced, and continue to offer customers a consistent and quality product. Smarties is a brand unto itself, it isn't owned by a bigger corporation. Given that it's an anomaly in the business world, the current generations want to see the company continuing to thrive by breathing fresh life into the business.

Part of the way they're working to stay true to their roots is by continuing to make everything in their own factories. They won't outsource work in order to save money which is great but it makes it difficult to stay competitively priced. However, they choose this because of YOU, the customer. Smarties is a great nostalgia candy and they want you to have what you remember and love exactly the way it was when you started enjoying the candy tablets.

Also, they want YOU to know that the company is alive and well and want to hear from YOU. Whether you choose to email, reach out to them on twitter, or post something on their facebook wall, they want to know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, etc.

Question #2: How does Smarties approach the new "health culture" with a candy product? {also included talk of being "green" with this question}

Answer: The wonderful thing about Smarties is that they never have to pretend they're making anything other than a fun treat to enjoy. Candy is what it is. The Smarties brand is very health conscious, though. This was the reasoning behind choosing pastel colors for the candies. When Smarties were first created, its makers didn't want to include an overload of dyes as they felt it took away from the taste of the candy. Today, Smarties is proud to say their candy isn't smothered by the dyes parents are concerned about. The Smarties owners are also aware of natural dyes on the horizon but for now those are surrounded by legislation that make it difficult and expensive for them to incorporate in their candies.

As for using packaging made from recycled items, Smarties has a certain demand of its buyers and sellers. Currently, the packaging we all remember and love is what is in demand. Using a different type of packaging would also increase the price of the product and that would effect them negatively from both the people who buy the candy and the stores who sell it. This is something that may change with time, but for now they want to remain consistent in price and quality for their customers.

Question #3: In Your F.A.Q. you talk about working mostly with the charities in the New Jersey area {close to home for the factory}. Are there any charities in particular that you prefer to partner with?

Answer: There currently isn't one, big charity that they partner with but that's something that they want to look into for the future. They currently enjoy working with local schools in support of kids eating and aspiring to be "Smarties". Some examples of fun campaigns they've worked on are "Smarties vote" and "Smarties read".

Conclusion:

Liz and Sarah were sweet and wonderful to talk with. They stated in our chat that Smarties is a family run company with a family feel for all who work there whether they're related or not. I can say after a short talk with them, even I felt like I was included in that family right away and had my brand loyalty reaffirmed by that time with them. I still want to go make candy with them {lol Can you blame me?} but if that never happens, I know that this small blog, its readers, and every Smarties fan matters to them. Knowing their heart and loyalty to the people who love Smarties is more than just "sweet talk" is enough to keep me buying and recommending the brand for years and years to come.

**MAKE SURE TO STAY TUNED FOR A GIVEAWAY FROM SMARTIES TO YOU!**



*Photo credit* All pictures of Smarties came to me via Jenn's Pinterest wall with permission to use them in this post.

**That's right. #IamASmartie!! This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias. In this post I share my thoughts and opinions of the item mentioned. Others may have a different experience or opinion.