Interview

Les Bonbons Richard

Candies…who doesn’t like candies! Robert Richard’s treats received rave reviews from a very serious panel we convened...Some of them even told our co-host Nancy Sabourin that they prefer the sugar free varieties!

« When I was young, says Robert Richard, President of Bonbons Richard, my father had a second job making candies. My eight sisters and my five brothers all took part in the work: pouring, unmolding one by one, wrapping... My father would go out and sell them on Saturdays in our area. »

« I had long dreamt of combining computers and mechanics to make a production line that would produce the same result: candy with a quality similar to handmade. »

What makes a good candy? « A good candy has lasting flavour from beginning to end says Mr. Richard. A good quality sweet has a true and long lasting flavour. Mouthfeel is important too. It should be easy to swish about and shouldn’t disturb things like dentures and crowns! »

A tasting in the company of real experts

We had real experts taste Mr. Richard’s candies: kids! All were willing to take on a blindfold test.

Mr. Richard talks about his maple candies: « The candy contains 41% pure maple syrup. The rest is a neutral sugar – glucose. No added colour, no added flavour. The result is a candy that tastes like traditional maple taffy. »

Sugar free candies

One of Bonbons Richard’s specialties is sugar free candy. What prompted Mr. Richard to enter this rather fussy market? « The population is aging. More people suffer from diabetes, obesity, tooth problems. Sugar free candies can bring pleasure to many. We use ingredients like malt, maltitol, sorbitol and other suger free substances. Success comes from knowing how to make your sugar free sweet taste as good as your naturally sweetened variety. »

Are sugar free candies actually good? « Of course! says Mr. Richard. We make some very good ones. It took us a long time to get things right, but we got there. Our line is the best on the market. »

A testament to success. Some of our experts actually preferred the sugar free candies!