Hit Parade - Edward Marc

MAY 2018

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Siblings Mark Edwards, Chris Edwards and Dana Edwards Manatos have

transformed Edward Marc Brands into a new product hit machine.

Siblings Mark Edwards, Chris Edwards and Dana Edwards Manatos have Siblings Mark Edwards, Chris Edwards and Dana Edwards Manatos have

Hit Parade

24 CANDY INDUSTRY May 2018 W W W . C A N D Y I N D U S T R Y . C O M

The return of fourth-generation siblings to the family business has propelled

Edward Marc Brands beyond the expectations of their founding great-

grandparents. Spurred by innovative product launches and a close

Costco partnership, the company continues to evolve.

W W W . C A N D Y I N D U S T R Y . C O M May 2018 CANDY INDUSTRY 25

Thomas Edison’s

description of

opportunity still

rings true today.

And one could easily substitute

the word entrepreneurship for

opportunity. As Chris Edwards,

co-ceo of Edward Marc Brands

explains, many potential employees

cite their desire for working in an

entrepreneurial environment when

applying for jobs at the Pittsburgh, Pa.-

based chocolate enterprise.

“Be careful what you ask for,” he

warns them, because entrepreneurship

often entails rolling up one’s sleeves

and doing whatever is necessary to

get the job done. He, together with his

coo brother Mark, and executive v.p.

sister Dana, is very familiar with Mr.

Opportunity showing up at the door.

After all three enjoyed serving the

nation by working in the White House

in George W. Bush’s administration

(2000 – 2005/07) within the logistics and

operations department, the trio decided

to return to the family business — one

that had its roots going back 104 years

when their great-grandparents Charlie

and Orania migrated from Greece and

settled in Pittsburgh.

When the three received a call

from their uncle in 2005 saying he

was planning to retire and needed

someone to continue the family

business being run by their parents, Jeff

and Dona, Mark was the fi rst to move

back, leaving the glamour and glitz of

Washington to his siblings.

In doing so, he learned the art of

making handcrafted chocolate from his

uncle and parents, all of whom worked

in the family’s retail chocolate shop and

“factory” in Trafford, Pa. The former

movie theatre that had been converted

into a chocolate shop, which included

a retail shop and living quarters on the

fi rst fl oor, a production space in the

basement and offi ces and storage space

on the second fl oor, proved to be not

only a training ground for Mark and his

siblings, but also an innovation incuba-

tion center for the trio.

“It all happened here, on this marble

table,” says Chris, while providing

Candy Industry a tour of the 10,000-sq.-

ft. Trafford facility.

Here refers to the breakthrough prod-

uct, Snappers, that jumpstarted the fam-

ily business from a modest $200,000

annual revenue to a projected

$60-million operation in 2018.

Thus, when Dana and Chris

committed to leaving the White

House for the family business in

2007, they did so without totally

pulling up D.C. stakes. Looking Mr.

Opportunity directly in the eye, the

trio submitted an RFP (Request for Pro-

posal) to set up a chocolate shop in the

Pentagon, which they received despite

several competing bids.

“The Pentagon is the world’s larg-

est offi ce building, with 30,000 people,”

Chris explains. “The shop gave us a lot

of visibility and enabled us to pick up a

host of government contracts. It became

a huge success.” It also provided the Traf-

ford factory needed sales as it phased out

its retail shop.

“Overnight” success fueled a story

by the Washingtonian magazine about

the “Politics to Sweets” operation, now

known as Edward Marc Brands. In com-

mitting to combine their talents to the

family business, one of the fi rst steps

the trio took involved reinvigorating the

image, look and impact of the company.

Serendipitously, Rachel Moyer, a

Northeast region Costco buyer, hap-

pened to come across the magazine ar-

ticle featuring the new chocolate shop in

the Pentagon. That revelation dovetailed

with the fact that her son would always

order a daily milkshake from The Milk

Shake Factory, a retail arm of Edward

By Bernard Pacyniak // EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Hit Parade

“ MOST PEOPLE MISS

OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE IT

IS DRESSED IN OVERALLS

AND LOOKS LIKE WORK.”

— THOMAS A. EDISON

(Left): The Edwards family: Dona Edwards, president; Mark Edwards, coo; Jeff Edwards, senior advisor; and Chris Edwards, ceo. Dana Edwards Manatos was not available at the time the photo was taken. Photos by Vito Palmisano


Marc Brands, while visiting his grandfa-

ther in Pittsburgh.

Her son’s unwavering loyalty to The

Milk Shake Factory milkshakes led to

Moyer discovering that the fourth-gen-

eration Edwards siblings had revitalized

the company’s soda fountain origins

into a modern-day dessert destination.

The concept actually was Dana’s final

project prior to graduating from college,

one that had captured the imagination of

Pittsburgh’s populace.

So Moyer connected with Chris. After

all, Costco has often encouraged local

companies to submit product concepts

for evaluation, banking on the idea that

regional affiliations go a long way in

driving sales. Hence, Moyer asked Chris

what the company does best. After Chris

responded that no one beats Edward

Marc’s caramel, Moyer tossed out a

challenge: “Bring me a product and we’ll

consider it.”

Coincidentally, there already had

been some thought amongst the trio

about producing a “Terrapin”-like prod-

uct, Terrapin being the company’s name

for the trademarked Turtles confection,

which is a pecan and caramel cluster

enrobed in chocolate.

“We make a great Terrapin,” Mark

says. “We had been looking at the sweet

snacking market and trying to come

up with the next wave of innovation.

Snappers proved to be a perfect fit given

our manufacturing capabilities with

regards to Terrapins.”

And although laying a dab of caramel

on a bed of pretzels and then enrobing

them top and bottom with milk choco-

late and a dark chocolate drizzle doesn’t

sound terribly complicated, it’s easier

said than actually done.

After scouring the supermarket

shelves for the right kind of pretzel — it’s

(Clockwise) Muhamed Kanyeshyamba pours out a 600-lb. batch of cooked caramel, which is rolled out to one of three Snappers production lines. Nick Bacon gently pours the caramel into the hopper, which is deposited onto specially formulated pretzel bits.

Once the caramel is deposited onto the pretzels, the clusters are enrobed and bottom-coated. Mark Edwards (left) and Chris Edwards are all smiles in seeing the new Snappers line boost output and efficiency. Inspectors check on finished Snappers heading toward packaging.


important to remember that the caramel

is deposited hot, which complicates the

process — the Edwards crew came up

with the Snappers sensation.

After Moyer took a bite of the sample,

all that was left was fi nding a way to

have the fi rst of four truckloads ready in

four months.

“All we had was the product,” Chris

recalls. “There wasn’t any packaging, no

pretzel supplier, no high-end produc-

tion line. But we had to do it.”

Did it they did, despite the fi rst pretzel

supplier bowing out of the contract at a

critical period. The supplier thought it

could replicate the Snappers product on

their own, Mark says.

It soon became clear that the Edwards

clan would have to get into the pretzel

business real fast.

Headquarters: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Sales: $60 million (Candy

Industry estimate for 2018)

Employees: 175

Plants: 2 (Pittsburgh – 85,000 sq.

ft. and Trafford – 10,000 sq. ft.)

Production Lines: 3 enrobing

lines, 6 automated belt coaters

Products: Panned confections,

enrobed chocolate specialty

items, bark, truffl es, chocolate

confections

Brands: Snappers Crafted

Snacks, Edward Marc Chocolatier,

The Milk Shake Factory

Management team:

Chris Edwards, ceo; Dana

Edwards Manatos, executive

v.p.; Mark Edwards, coo; Dona

Edwards, president; Jeff Edwards,

senior adviser

Edward Marc

Brands

At-a-Glance

(Above): The indulgent Edward Marc Chocolatier medallions came about as an innovative miscue; someone had forgotten to load the line with pretzels.

(Top right): Introduced last year, Dark Chocolate Coconut Almonds will become the company's leading sales item this year.

(Counter-clockwise) Pedro Iastra checks on coconut-coated almonds being produced on one of four recently installed automated belt coaters. Mark and Chris Edwards (center) expect output of panned products to reach 45,000 lbs. per shift. New cream tanks were installed to feed the automated belt coaters.


“We had to make

sure that the pretzel

contained the same

ingredients as those

already printed onto

existing pouches,” Mark

explains. Typically, getting dies

made and formulations perfected takes

three months. They only had three weeks

supply left of their existing pretzels.

Mark, using a combination of bravura

and begging, managed to convince a

supplier of pretzel equipment to allow

him to access its R&D center and fi nalize

the formulation and pretzel shape. In

doing so, he was able to fi nd a co-packer

willing to handle the order.

“They would have to run the pret-

zels 24/7, which was defi nitely a culture

change for them,” he says.

And just as the last run of existing

pretzels from their original supplier was

coming to an end, a new shipment rolled

into the Trafford plant. A plea for a “just-

in-time” miracle had been answered.

When the last of 26 pallets was loaded

into the Costco truck, the realization

that Snappers was going to be a major hit

sunk in.

The move toward “scaling up” began,

with the acquisition of used equipment

designed for more volume production

being the fi rst step. The search for a

larger plant also began, a search that

ironically led them to the Lawrenceville

neighborhood, the same area that their

grandfather and grandmother had set up

their fi rst chocolate shop in Pittsburgh.

It truly was full circle, Chris says.

The explosion of Snappers through

Costco required the group to quickly ex-

pand pretzel production, turning to four

pretzel co-packers to meet the demand.

Again, the need to maintain product

integrity during a tricky production pro-

cess required constant monitoring.

In 2015, the company took over a

50,000-ft. building in the Lawrenceville

neighborhood, setting up a base for

high-volume, high-quality production.

An “Alpha” line for the production of

Snappers — custom-built by Mark and

Jeff was installed. A second line —

supplied by Aasted — followed, with a

third to be installed this quarter.

To diversify their product portfolio,

the trio developed a panned dark choco-

late coconut almond confection, again

a case of opportunity reappearing in

sweaty overalls.

“We got a call around 5 p.m. early

last year about participating in Costco’s

MVM (multi-vendor mailers) program,

a coupon program requiring a supplier

discount,” Mark explains. “They

wanted an offer from us by 10 a.m.”

Given Mark’s fi nance background —

it’s what he majored in college — Chris

was confi dent his brother’s penchant for

effi ciency and containing costs could

deliver a product that would meet this

new challenge.

“We were looking at a $7-million or-

der,” Mark adds. Drawing on their choco-

latier skills and exacting production

calculations, the company submitted

Dark Chocolate Coconut

Almonds as their item

for consideration.

The lightly salted al-

monds, which are rolled

in a layer of sweet coconut

shavings and covered in premium

dark chocolate, made the cut. The initial

volume was estimated at 1.1 million lbs.

It turned out to be 1.8 million lbs.

“We were making deals with multiple

co-packers to meet that extra 800,000

lbs.,” he says.

Given the initial MVM success with

Dark Chocolate Coconut Almonds, it’s

not surprising that the item has become

one of the company’s best-selling items.

“We expect Dark Chocolate Coconut

Almonds to surpass Snappers as our best-

selling item this year,” Mark says. And,

as with Snappers, the item will be rolled

out into mainstream grocery chains,

such as H.E.B., Giant Eagle and Ahold.

To accommodate the expected

demand, the company just recently

installed four Tinsley 74-in. automated

belt coaters, each capable of turning out

700 lbs. per batch.

“On the fi rst day of operation, we hit

30,000 lbs.,” says Mark. “We expect to hit

about 45,000 lbs. on a daily basis.”

In conjunction with the automatic

belt coaters, the company installed

a FLtècnics horizontal form/fi ll/seal

pouch machine that uses roll stock to

create the packages. It operates at a

speed of 140 pouches per minute, greatly

speeding up packaging effi ciency as well

as reducing labor. Total investment for

the new facility and equipment to date

exceeds $3.5 million.

Almonds as their item

for consideration.

monds, which are rolled

in a layer of sweet coconut


The increased output and effi ciencies

work well for the company since it will

reveal a new panned seasonal item at

the Sweets & Snacks Expo, a speculoos

(a cookie butter) center sitting atop

cinnamon pretzels and enrobed in

white chocolate.

Edward Marc Chocolatier looks to

launch a milk chocolate toffee-coated

almond item while simultaneously

watching the progression of its

Caramel Medallions, thin soft creamy

batch caramel medallions bottomed

in chocolate and accented with a

chocolate cord, gain traction.

Chris chuckles about that new prod-

uct innovation: “We had forgotten to

turn on the pretzel feeder while running

Snappers and this beautiful Caramel

Medallions product came out.”

Other items certain to attract and

possibly garner acclaim: Hot Chocolate

Bark, which features milk chocolate

with crispy marshmallows, puffed

rice and a contrasting cord, and Dark

Chocolate Strawberry Pistachio Bark,

dark chocolate layered with oil-roasted

pistachios and tart strawberries broken

into individual pieces.

Chris attributes a good part of the

company’s success to Costco, which

helped propel the chocolate shop/factory

into an “innovation factory.”

Since it began working with Costco

fi ve years ago, Edward Marc Brands

has become one of the club store’s

biggest vendors.

“They really helped us grow our busi-

ness,” he says. “As a result, we have a Cost-

co-fi rst strategy; everything we do goes

to Costco fi rst. Plus, their buyers have a

hands-on philosophy regarding product

development. They even get involved in

the thickness a bark should be and the

type of inclusions they want to see.”

At the same time, the club store chain

realizes that diversifi cation is key to an

entrepreneurial company’s growth and

encourages partners to expand into

other channels, such as C-stores and

grocery chains.

Fortunately, for Edward Marc

Brands, diversifi cation, as in the expan-

sion of the The Milk Shake Factory came

knocking on their door. The fi rst knock

came from PNC Bank, which had just

built a new offi ce building downtown.

“They were looking for someone local

to set up a retail shop on the fi rst fl oor,”

Chris explains. “Given that The Milk

Shake Factory had evolved into one of the

most popular ice cream shops in the city,

they wanted their employees to be able

to enjoy a treat in their own building.”

Despite the costs and risk of operating

a retail store at such a premium location,

the Edwards siblings once again opted to

go in, encouraged by their parents Dona

and Jeff.

As expected, the downtown shop was

designed to become the fl agship store,

complete with a modern retro look.

“We were initially afraid the PNC lo-

cation would cannibalize sales from our

South Side store location, which isn’t

far from there,” Chris says. “But people

at the South Side store see that more as

a chocolate shop whereas downtown is

more of a dessert destination.”

It certainly proved to be just that

for the Tull family, whose children

loved choosing classic malt milkshakes

as well as gourmet offerings such as

Bananas Foster and Caramel Macchiato.

Their fondness turned into another

opportunity for the Edwards family, an

investment partnership.

“Thomas Tull, who’s the founder of

Legendary Entertainment and a minor-

ity owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and

Dana Edwards Manatos, fl anked by her brothers Mark and Chris, came up with the idea of The Milk Shake Factory as a fi nal project for a college course. The company looks to open 25 retail outlets within three years.


his wife, Alba, ceo of Tull Investments,

were interested in investing in a local

business,” Chris says. “They wanted

to support a hometown company and

saw an opportunity to expand The Milk

Shake Factory nationally.”

The plan is to open up 25 new stores

in the Northeast, using milk from the

Tull’s Rivendale’s farm, which combines

natural, sustainable farming with in-

novative techniques and technology, to

produce ice cream onsite.

Reportedly, milk from Jersey cows

provide a high butterfat content of 4.84

percent, about 25 percent more than

average milk, as well as a higher protein

content, which hovers around 3.95 per-

cent, about 18 percent more than other

breeds’ product. Jersey milk also has 25

percent more calcium than other milks.

Plus, there’s an added benefi t. “It

makes the best ice cream I’ve ever had,”

Chris adds.

“The Tulls will provide the investment

and we’ll develop the stores, manufac-

turing our own ice cream in the store,” he

says. “No one’s doing that. It will be farm

to table. And our chocolate will be 100

percent sustainable.”

As he explains, the new technology

will dramatically cut down on the time it

takes to create a milkshake, simply from

the time it takes for a scoop of ice cream

to properly blend into a milk shake. Thus,

instead of requiring at least 2.5 minutes

to make a milkshake, it will now take

only 45 seconds.

And while effi ciency will be a key

element in the new Milk Shake Factory

stores opening up in the Northeast —

seven in the Pittsburgh area this year —

transparency and sustainability are also

key drivers.

“We’ll be 100 percent transparent

from the dairy and chocolate side,”

Chris says.

That commitment, however, goes

beyond the Milk Shake Factory. This

year, Mark will head up the company’s

newest initiative, Edward Marc Farms.

Having attended a World Cocoa Founda-

tion Partnership meeting last October

in Washington, D.C., the coo came away

both inspired and agitated.

“It was eye-opening to say the least,”

Mark says. “Sustainability is about

eliminating poverty, child labor and

deforestation. It comes down to what we

are as an industry and what we are going

to do about it. Our entire success is based

on chocolate confections. We talk about

people, products, markets, processes,

but we don’t talk about poverty in our

own supply network. Nonetheless, it’s all

interconnected. We don’t want chocolate

to be a luxury for future generations; we

want it readily available.”

As a result, Mark asked himself and

his brother and sister what value could

their company offer. After visiting farms

in the Ivory Coast and working closely

with Barry Callebaut and its Cocoa Hori-

zons program, he enlisted the help of his

wife Meaghan, and they determined it

was necessary to get involved.

Thus, Edward Marc Farms (EMF) was

born, its two-fold mission to grow cocoa

profi tably and to improve the human liv-

ing condition on cocoa farms.

“What we want to do is provide the

infrastructure whereby farmers can lift

themselves out of poverty,” Mark says.

“It’s not a charity, but a long-term invest-

ment spanning 25 years.”

This year the company looks to lease

1,500 acres in West Africa whereby half

will be devoted to cocoa, the remaining

half to diversifi ed crops such as corn,

wheat, rice and other cash crops. Within

that acreage, 30 acres will be devoted to

nutrition, that is feeding the community.

“We’ll bring in clean water, educa-

tion and health care,” he says. “It’s a way

of commercializing cocoa, creating a

community and allowing children to

go to school and play. There will be also

opportunities for multiple industries to

invest, encouraging diversifi ed incomes,

such as raising chickens.”

The goal is to expand the program af-

ter the fi rst year to encompass 700 farms,

each comprising 1,500 acres and impact-

ing 280,000 farmers over 25 years.

“Our goal is to increase income by 40

percent in the fi rst year,” Mark says. “We

take away the risk and expenses of farm-

ing, pay for the planting of new trees as

well as other infrastructure costs. It is a

test model that we look to make repeat-

able, allowing other chocolate compa-

nies to get involved.”

When asked how cocoa farmers

responded to the idea, the coo said they

simply had one condition: “’Bring us clean

water,’ they said. ‘We’ll do anything.’”

It’s all about building trust, Mark

asserts.

And still growing Edward Marc

Brands, Chris adds.

“We will all still work together,” he says,

“but our roles have expanded as the com-

pany has evolved. Mark will head up EMF,

Dana will oversee The Milk Shake Factory,

and I will still deal with the branded side.

But this will be the mission of our com-

pany and what we want to accomplish

[full sustainability and transparency].”

Once again, it’s another opportunity

the siblings aren’t walking away from.

Snappers are scaled before they are dropped into newly formed pouches. Christina Collier begins loading roll stock on the newly installed horizontal form/fi ll/seal pouch unit capable of fi lling 140 bags per minute.

After visiting the Ivory Coast last year, Mark Edwards and his wife Meaghan committed to creating a sustainable model for Edward Marc Brands with the creation of Edward Marc Farms.

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Hit Parade - Edward Marc