Fledgling candy makers eye the retail market.

• Author: Smith, Marjie
• Position: Morin's Fudge and Brittle Kitchen - Manufacturing Report

Fledgling candy makers eye the retail market

Sinking one's teeth into a truffle from Morin's Fudge and Brittle Kitchen of Bruce Mines is enough to create a habit.

And it's a habit which must be catching on because business has been steady since the kitchen opened last June.

Suzanne Morin, who cooks and operates Morin's for her parents, Robert and Gerry Morin, is pleased with their start.

"We are getting a lot of word-of-mouth advertising. That really gives you a good framework for how you are doing in terms of public reaction," said Morin.

Although the target market is the North Shore area where Bruce Mines is located, customers come from much further away. In fact, people from places such as Toronto and even Florida have stopped by on a friend's or co-worker's recommendation.

Morin's has no competitors in the area, a condition of the FedNor grant which helped fund the candy shop.

The candy shop is a pre-fabricated building which was used by Beaver Lumber for display purposes in Sault Ste. Marie. Robert bought and moved the building to its current location.

The business venture was a family affair. The original idea was Gerry's, who works in real estate in Sault Ste. Marie. Robert had retired from Algoma Steel and they were looking for a business venture.

Suzanne's brother Mathew, who lives in Toronto, did the paperwork and much of the leg work.

Although they ate a lot of homemade fudge as children, "that really wasn't the stimulus," says Suzanne, who laughingly admits it would be easy to nibble on the profits in a candy shop.

The Morins received training from a professional candy maker. Suzanne would like to get more training, particularly with chocolate, which has become a popular item in the store.

"I am now doing a lot of reading and research on my own. I am trying to acquire more knowledge of candy making and the intricacies of chocolate," said Morin.

Although she does all of the chocolate work, her father gives her a hand with the fudge and brittle making because of the...