IN 1892, CHESTER A. ASHER, A SCOTTISH FARM BOY WITH A SWEET TOOTH and a head for business, founded Asher’s confectionary company in Center City, Philadelphia. Asher composed original recipes on the backs of sugar bags, and soon the business (which once included everything from jams and jellies to maple syrup and ice cream) began to grow. Four generations aided in the transformation and expansion of the company, and today Asher’s Chocolates is the oldest U.S. family-owned and operated confectioner.
Asher’s son James was an original committee member of The Retail Confectioners Association of Philadelphia (RCAP), a nonprofit trade association founded in 1918 to share information and knowledge about candy making and retailing among Philadelphia area confectioners. In 1949, the RCAP sponsored the first Philadelphia National Candy Gift and Gourmet Show, an exhibition where local confectioners such as the Asher family, now with 50-plus years of business savvy, could display their goods.
A Philly Candy Convention Comes to Atlantic City
Over the years, the Philadelphia National Candy Gift and Gourmet Show expanded to include candy makers from all over the U.S. and Canada, and in the mid-1980s relocation to the Valley Forge Convention Center (just outside of Philadelphia) was critical due to the high number of exhibitors. Attendance steadily soared into the thousands, and in 2006, the show made a move to the Atlantic City Convention Center in New Jersey.
“They originally contacted our office to check availability for their show because they outgrew the facility in Valley Forge,” said Elaine Shapiro Zamansky, manager of media relations for the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority (CVA). “They contemplated changing the name, but decided to keep the Philadelphia name in it, because that is what people connected to.”
It’s a dramatic move for this show, says Jack Asher, grandson of founder Chester Asher, upon the 2006 announcement of the relocation.
“Over the past 56 years, our company in particular has enjoyed the benefits of the Philadelphia show’s growth,” he said. “We’ve moved to each new venue with significant sales increases, and we feel this move to Atlantic City will expand upon our exposure resulting in the sales opportunities that we’ve grown to expect from the Philly show.”
The Atlantic City Convention Center provided 500,000 square feet of contiguous space for the exhibitors on a single floor, while the location offered a destination for attendees to incorporate networking opportunities and leisure into their visits to the show. Meeting rooms accommodated the growing number of seminars held during the show, while a variety of special events developed new working relationships between buyers and exhibitors. The first show in Atlantic City was a success, with 30 percent growth from the previous year in Valley Forge. It was clear that the show had found a sweet spot in Atlantic City.
Candy-coated Challenges
The January 2009 show covered timely trends such as environmentally friendly candy packaging and new hues of chocolate coloring, while respecting traditions in free seminars such as “Candy 101,” “Decorating with Royal Icing” and “The Incredible Chocolate Egg.” Presenters included Rose Potts from Bloomer Chocolates, who discussed the importance of tracing all ingredients from their supply sources to the finished products, then letting the consumer in on the acquired information.
In addition to the standard aspects of the three-day trade show, members of the Atlantic City CVA were asked to renew aspects of the respected original.
“A change in leadership of the organization in 2008 created the challenge of having to rebuild the show, for both exhibitors and attendees,” Zamansky said. “The show producers wanted to develop a special event that would create excitement, and they focused on holding a Chef Challenge—a cooking competition by professional chefs to create a four-course meal that incorporated chocolate into the recipes.”
Arranging the Chef Challenge was not without logistical challenges.
“Within a few weeks, the show needed to create the rules, acquire kitchen setups, recruit judges and find teams of professional chefs,” Zamansky said. “The producers are not Atlantic City residents and had few local contacts to rely on, with the exception of the CVA sales managers and convention service and media relations staff, as well as the convention center in-house event management staff.”
Teamwork took center stage, and with careful delegation, the planning was under way.
“Because the CVA owns the building, there is always close coordination with us and convention center staff,” Zamansky said. “The show producers used their contacts to obtain high-level judges and purchased the appropriate equipment.”
Meanwhile the convention center staff arranged the floor plan, hookups, security and other physical logistics, and the CVA’s media relations team reached out to local hotel and restaurant contacts to build a team of top chefs from casino resorts and hotels.
The group publicized the event through well-established media channels, garnering print and television coverage of the event and the awards ceremony. In addition, the CVA helped arrange a charitable donation of one of the kitchen setups to a local soup kitchen that feeds hundreds of people on a daily basis.
“The creative thinking on the part of the show’s producers and ability to create an event on the fly brought a vague idea to fruition,” Zamansky said. “In all, the event created excitement among the exhibitors and attendees, and created good will and a positive image for the show among the show’s constituents and within Atlantic City’s food service industry.” One+
KIMBERLY KING frequently contributes to One+, as well as Time Out New York and The Faster Times.
What’s New in Atlantic City
• AirTran Airways launched new twice daily, nonstop service from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) to Atlantic City (ACY) in June. The introduction of this flight immediately preceded the launch of AirTran’s nonstop service to ACY from Orlando International Airport (MCO), also in June.
• The new, US$400 million Water Club, a luxury boutique-style hotel adjacent to The Borgata, is open. The hotel features Immersion, a two-story, 26,000-square-foot spa in the sky with a 25-yard lap pool and endless views.
• ACES (Atlantic City Express Service) now offers light rail service between New York’s Penn Station and the Atlantic City Rail Terminal. Express trains operate on weekends. The newly remodeled multilevel railcars offer passengers leather seating, a private lounge and food and beverage kiosks. The railcars carry as many as 300 passengers per four-car train.
• WestJet Airlines, a Canadian-based low-cost air carrier, will begin seasonal service between Atlantic City and Toronto in October.
Fun Facts
• The first Miss America pageant took place in Atlantic City in 1921, and the city played host to the event until 2005.
• The Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City has four-and-a-half times more steel than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
• All of the street names from the Monopoly board game are in Atlantic City except one: Marvin Gardens (actually spelled Marven Gardens) is located in Margate.
Transportation Tips
• Atlantic City International Airport is located minutes from the city and offers shuttle, taxi and rental car transportation. Philadelphia International Airport is a one-hour drive via the Atlantic City Expressway. Rail service provided by NJ Transit arrives and departs through the rail terminal adjacent to the Atlantic City Convention Center.