I have been saying Ummm Boy, Almond Joy for years. I say it with real emotion. Like I really mean it. and I do.
I love Almond Joy candy bars. I mean I really love them.
The chocolate, the almonds, the coconut. What a combination.
Frankly, it cannot get better than this. This is the ultimate.
I have expressed my feelings about Almond Joys before on my blogs. August 5th, 2022 and September 3rd, 2022.
So you may ask, why am I writing about them again.
Well, something happened to me other day that shook me a little bit, and I just have to get it off my chest. So, bear with me, please.
When I stopped for gas in Vidal Junction California on my 280-mile road trip to Las Vegas I went into the mini mart at the gas station to ask about the price of gas.
While in the minimart I could not help but notice the candy section. Even though this mini mart was very small, located in the middle of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, with nothing near it except a State of California Agricultural Inspection station… even though no one in their right mind would stop there because the price of gas at their pump was $7.79/gallon, the highest price of gas in the entire country… Even with all this, the display of candy was immense.
It was 10 feet long and 6 feet high. It had five shelves. Each shelf had 10 different candies on it. It was a phenomenal display of different kinds of candies.
What caught my eye and my attention was where the Almond Joy candy bars were located. I had a hard time finding my favorite candy bar of all time. Finally, I found the Almond Joys. They were not on the top shelf, the one at eye level. No sir. They were not on the second shelf. No sir. They were not on the third shelf either. They were on the fourth shelf. They were just one shelf higher than the bottom shelf – just one foot above the floor.
On top of that, the Almond Joys were not the first box of candies in the fourth row. No sir. They were not the second box of candies in the fourth row. No sir. In fact, they were the 8th box of candies on the shelf. Of the 10 boxes of candies on the fifth row, they were the 8th.
You can see why I was wide eyed. How could Almond Joy candy bars be placed in such a remote position on the candy display. How can that happen? What in the hell is going on when Almond Joy candy bars are relegated to such a lowly position vis a vis other candy bars?
There could be a few reasons for this. One, maybe everyone does not feel the same way about Almond Joy candy bars as I do. This is a possible explanation.
Two, maybe other candy bars are more popular and get more sales than my favorite Almond Joy.
Or, three, just maybe the mini mart does not care what candy bar is located where on the display, so they by chance, located Almond Joy candy bars far away from where most people would look to purchase some candy.
Let’s take a closer look at these possible explanations for why the Almond Joy candy bars are located so far away and far below most of the other candies.
My research shows that Almond Joy candy bars are one of the best selling and most popular candy bars in US history. Some studies and reports have them number 10 (Love Food report as well as CNBC’s America’s favorite candy bars), others have Almond Joy number 14 (LA Times food columnist’s power rankings), still others have the candy bar at number 20 (Kara McKenna of Ohio University). Some have it listed as number 50 (Daryl and Mindi Hirsch).
By most accounts, the best selling and most popular candies in America are Snickers, Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Bars, and M&M’s, in that order.
The largest candy company in the world is Mars which has more than $20 billion in annual sales, with 34,000 employees in 53 plants. Mars makes Snickers, M&M’s, Mars bars, Milky Way and Twix. Almond Joy and other candies are made by the Hershey Company, which has $8 billion in annual sales, 16,000 employees in 14 plants. $60 million each year comes from Almond Joy sales.
Now I know that there are more important things to worry about right now in this world that we live in – for example, climate change, mass murders, Russian aggression, Hamas/Israeli conflict, China, the next Presidential election in the US, who will win the NFL, NBA and NHL trophies this year, what is happening to our educational system in this country, to name a few.
Nevertheless, when one sees a wrong, it needs to be corrected. This is one of those situations.
Almond Joy candy bars should be placed front and center in either the top or next to the top row of the display.
The question for those reading my blog or listening to my podcast is how do we accomplish this needed correction. What do we have to do to get Almond Joy candy bars front and center in the candy displays at mini marts, grocery store check out lines and everywhere else?
I hope my readers and listeners will chime in with suggestions. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy my Almond Joys.
They come in different sizes. There is the standard candy bar. There is the large size one. And there are the minis. I just received an early Christmas present from a dear friend. She sent me two (2) good sized packages of mini Almond Joys. There are 60 mini Almond Joy candy bars in each package!
Ummmm boy, Almond Joy!!!!!
Neil,
I think you may have mis-interpreted the mini mart’s placement of your beloved Almond Joy. How about this:
1. It’s in the desert. It’s hot. Hot air rises. Perhaps the bottom row is the premier spot for candy in the desert because it’s cooler down there.
2. The current location is 8th out of 10, from the LEFT, but it’s also only second from the RIGHT. You think it should be “front and center”. If that’s the case, its current position is only 2 or 3 spots out of position, next to the Mounds bars that are in the center.
3.If gas was $7.79 a gallon, how much was the candy?
Neil, I think your friend John is onto something. I think the desert folks know exactly what they are doing. Perhaps they are placing your favorite candy bar in the perfect position for the little ones who come in while their parents are paying for their gas.
You’ve got a great point. The almond joys may be perfectly placed if you are three years old, and instead of approaching things from the left to the right, you approach things from the right to the left, then it works. Brilliant.
Thank you for this insight.
Mounds were in the middle? They’ve always been my favorite (they’re really Almond Joys without the nut—that is, take a Mound, add an Almond, and you have your favorite. Oh, and Mounds are dark chocolate while Almond Joy is lighter milk chocolate. Love ‘em both. Made by same company.
Neil-
I don’t normally reply to your great blogs but this one really hit home. First off, Sheryl and I often stop at that very place on our way to and from our second home in San Diego to/from our primary residence in Denver. And I almost never see anyone getting gas there — for the obvious reason. But we all go into the store to buy a coke, an ice cream bar, and/or some candy, of course, because it really breaks up the monotonous drive across the desert.
Now as to the candy bars. Who cares about Almond Joy when for the same price we can buy a Mounds with dark chocolate — the only thing that we REAL chocolate lovers love? For this reason, I despise the stores that only sell Almond Joy and not Mounds. At least Vidal Junction sells both.
I remember stopping for gas there literally in the middle of the night. Ate Almond Joys on way home because no food service was open. Almond Joys have always been my favorite!
Happy Holidays!