The wedding
White and ivory sugared almonds for the favour table, pink and blue for the baby shower, silver and gold for anniversaries; the tradition came with Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Lebanese families and stayed. Coloured sugared almonds are ordered by colour, one colour per carton, or mixed. The wedding trade in the country buys imported almonds by the carton through favour companies and wholesalers; the origin article explains the tradition the almond carries. Ivory and white are the volume colours; pastels are ordered per event, so a wholesaler keeps the two staples in stock and orders the rest by season.
The party pack
Chocolate pebbles and mushrooms, small chocolate dragées in bright shells, jellies and wrapped sweets: the party pack packer buys them loose by the carton and portions them by hand. The pieces must survive the scoop and the bag; a polished shell does, a rough one is softer to bite. Case weight per line and wrapped or loose formats are stated in the offer. The dragée page lists the groups next to the sugared almonds. Case weight matters more here than anywhere: a packer buys little and often.
The corporate tray
Chocolate covered almonds and hazelnuts, milk and dark, in bowls and trays for the boardroom and the Eid gift; the gift company buys by the carton and packs under its own name, and the box or the pouch can be printed under its brand on selected lines. Halaal is asked for first and answered per line by our certificate and the certifying body named in the offer. Pistachio dragées from Gaziantep sit at the top of the tray, where the gift is meant to be noticed.
What the packer asks first
Colour and finish, because the dragée is seen before it is tasted. Wrapped or loose. Shelf life on the data sheet, because the favour is ordered weeks before the day. Halaal, by certifier. And the carton: one product, one colour, a case weight a packer can carry. All of it is stated per line in the offer.
The route
Sugared almonds travel dry into Durban or Cape Town; chocolate dragées and coated nuts travel in a reefer on this route year round, because the container crosses the tropics. Both share one container, dry pallets and cold pallets as the offer states, next to Turkish delight boxes and jellies for the tuck shop. The South Africa page lists what stays the same on every offer; the samples page explains how to taste the lines first.
How to start
Start with the dragées page: pick the lines, say how many and name the port. The written offer follows within two working days and states what each line weighs by the carton and what the minimum is.
Tasting first is normal — samples are free from running production, you cover the courier. The south africa: what stays the same on every offer page lists what stays the same on every offer, and the private label page covers putting your own name on the pack.
Can we order a single colour of sugared almonds?
Yes. Cartons are packed by colour; mixes are also available. The colours per line are in the offer.
Are sugared almonds a tree-nut product?
Yes. The centre is an almond and it is declared as such on the label, from the data sheet.
Do dragées carry a halaal certificate?
The certificate is held for our factory, with the certifying body named in the offer; polished dragées depend on the glazing agent, which the data sheet states.
