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Illinois Nut & Candy
David Levine, President
Skokie, IL
www.RaisingtheCandyBar.com

Illinois Nut & Candy is a chocolate manufacturer and retail store. It’s what you’d imagine Willy Wonka would open if he specialized in gluten free, organic, vegan, lactose free, dairy free, sugar free, kosher and more, so as to make it easy to give chocolate to those with dietary preferences or needs. Illinois Nut stresses branding in chocolate, noting that companies who give business gifts can get double value for their money. A chocolate doorbell (if you’re a doorbell manufacturer) or a chocolate eye chart (if you’re an eye doctor) earns you brand awareness in addition to credit for the gift itself.

Illinois Nut & Candy has always had a strong, loyal customer base. It wanted to build its credibility, nationally and locally, in both traditional and online media — and after a few months, opted to move on to lead generation and customer generation activities. Levine says: "I’m more valuable to my company when I wear my ‘business owner’ hat and leave the marketing to a professional. I trust Mona to push me to think in different ways. Her decisions and suggestions have our best interests and ROI in mind. She gives us a professional ‘voice’ and has been able to get us exposure from The Jewish Week to Fox News and beyond, plus introductions, credibility via third-party endorsements, increased reach via social media, and more. I strongly endorse M.Source to anyone (not in the Confection industry) who is looking for a PR company that will help you grow your business."