Stutz Candies Readies for St. Paddy's Day, Easter

How many pounds of potatoes does your family eat in a year? Is 400 a realistic number for your household, or for all of Hatboro?

That's about how many pounds of potatoes—the Irish variety—that Stutz Candies in Hatboro expects to have on hand for the days leading up to and including St. Patrick's Day. Stutz Vice President Rich Knappik said the coconut and cream treats are on hand at the company's stores in Hatboro and Warrington.

But, the big holiday for the fifth generation candy company is Easter. From decorated candy eggs and coconut cream eggs to hollow and solid bunnies ranging in size from 1.75 ounces up to 4 pounds, Easter is by far, the time for candy sales.

And, even as Stutz's boxed chocolate end has "dropped off," Knappik, the nephew of long-time owner John Glaser, said Valentine's Day candy sales were up as compared to last year. He expects a similar trend for Easter, which falls exactly two weeks after St. Patrick's Day, on March 31.

"We’re probably approaching 2011 numbers or maybe a little better," Knappik said. “We’re just reinventing.”

Whether or not the earlier date for the Easter holiday impacts Stutz's sales for the better or worse is yet to be determined. According to the National Confectioners Association, chocolate seasonal candy sales grew by almost 10 percent for Easter 2009 as compared to the previous holiday. The association attributed a later holiday–on April 12 as compared to March 23 in 2008–for the sales increase. 

"The additional time allows for extended merchandising for the season and even in a down economy the extended selling period creates an atmosphere for strong sales," the association reported in its Easter 2009 sales summary.

Like every other business, Knappik said Stutz is facing its own "challenges," including increasing costs of goods coming in.

"Everything's going up," he said. 

To rein in costs and continue spurring sales, Knappik said the company has begun repackaging some items with a smaller quantity and keeping the pricing the same. Stutz's half and half assortments of fruit and nut candy are one example, he said.

"The world has done that over the past 10 to 15 years," Knappik said. 

As Glaser contemplates retirement, Knappik, for the most part in the driver's seat of Stutz Candies, said he recently had the Hatboro store's building painted and put out new signs. A banner for Easter will be up soon, he said. 

These are "little ways we're trying to get people to come back in," Knappik said. "We have the largest and finest in the area."