Fully loaded treats 3970

Hebert Confections, LLC, has added Bites to its Fully Loaded® line of upscale chocolate products, which feature various inclusions—the candy, brownie and cake pieces, fruits and nuts often mixed into ice cream and candy—and fresh fruit flavors such as blueberry and orange. The line, launched in April 2007 with the Fully Loaded Inclusion bars, optimizes the candy's texture by putting the inclusions on the outside of the bars. The bars were followed fudge that has additions such as nuts, berries, and chips both inside and out. “We offer premium chocolate with an edge,” says Hebert Confections' CEO Tom O'Rourke. “We've patterned ourselves as the Ben & Jerry's of chocolate—a premium base with fun inclusions.”



The company gets some of its edge from its bold packaging. “We have a little bit of fun,” O'Rourke explains. “The only objection we've ever heard about our packaging is 'Gee, isn't that a little bit busy?' In the chocolate aisle, that's a good thing because it's usually just a sea of brown.”

The packages feature aboriginal patterns in addition to names that are both fun and descriptive. Boasting about the company's creative in-house marketing department, O'Rourke states: “Gary Dow is our director of marketing, and he's our packaging designer. He's as good as it gets in the industry. There's also one person who works with him, but Gary does all the design and mockup work.” The packaging also is designed to protect the candy's flavors and extend its shelf life. Inclusion bars come in 2.75-oz packs; bites are individually foil wrapped then packed in 5.1-oz bags.