The MoPR Blog

There are a number of contenders vying for leadership in the Candy Coated Chocolate Confection (Quad-C) race, but only two clearly dominate the market. Even the best of the dozen or so also-rans can merely be the third horse in a two-horse race.

M&Ms from Mar’s and their predecessor, Smarties from Nestle are the two clear market leaders. However, it is hard to choose a clear market winner between these two Quad-C rivals as they rarely compete in the same geographic market. In the United States, M&Ms are the clear choice because Smarties are not available to the US consumer. Likewise Smarties dominates the market in Canada where M&Ms are not available. Assuming you had a choice, which one is better?

We brought the two brands into our test lab and ran them through a rigorous testing regimen executed by two industry experts who frequently consult on Quad-C purchases. Samantha, age 8, and Margo, age 5 and 3/4, have more than a decade combined experience advising on scores of Quad-C purchases. (Photo above by Candyblog).

In most group reviews our experts begin by noting price. In this review our experts focused first on volume. Price was irrelevant for two key reasons. First, the Smarties were purchased in Canada and the M&Ms in the United States. Factoring the exchange rate and the cost of gasoline consumption into the price made the math too difficult even for our editorial staff, so we lined-out that criterion from our review. Second, Samantha and Margo have never paid for candy in their lives and really don’t care about price. If necessary, dad can always pay with a credit card.

Focusing on package volume, Margo noted that more Smarties came in the box than did M&Ms from the bag. She was right, as the standard grocery-store-shelf-sized box of Smarties contained 56 grams of candy whereas the standard grocery-store-shelf-sized bag of M&Ms only had 47.9 grams. Samantha then noted that Smarties came in a box and M&Ms in a bag.

Comparing nutritional value, we noted that the US bag of M&Ms have 240 calories while the Canadian box of Smarties had 1070 kJ of “energie.” More confusing still was that the M&Ms possessed 10 g of fat while Smarties had 7.6 g of something called “matieres grasses.”

We also compared the ingredients list of the two products. M&Ms has a list of wholesome ingredients including sugar, chocolate, skim milk and milk fat. Forgetting for a moment that it seems more efficient to use lowfat milk rather than adding milk fat to skim milk, M&Ms would seem to have the healthiest list of ingredients. Of course M&Ms’ ingredient list ends with the secret code “red 40 lake, yellow 6, yellow 5, blue 2 lake, etc.” Smarties’ ingredients include, among other things, sucre, substances laitieres, farine de ble, amidon de mais modifie and colorant. We at TheMoPRBlog don’t know what any of that means, but we’re pretty sure we’re falling in love.

Our initial confusion about the nutritional information turned to well-placed apathy and both our experts agreed that nutritional metrics or the list of ingredients should never play a factor in a Quad-C purchase decision. After all, this is Quad-C and not hamburgers we’re talking about. Margo did point out however that if pepper was ever included in a recipe for candy, stay away from getting that kind, at least for her.

In the end, both Samantha and Margo selected Smarties as the best. Margo observed that Smarties come in pink while M&Ms do not have a pink offering. She further observed that Smarties are larger, allowing for more chocolate per piece. Combining the chocolate per piece ratio to the superior number of pieces per container allows for more chocolate ingestion, despite the 1070 kJs of energie.

Samantha, while also selecting Smarties as her Quad-C recommendation, noted the M&Ms have a thinner candy coating which made the chocolate flavor stand out. However, Smarties come in purple. Because of the harder candy shell on Smarties, Samantha elects to eat hers one at a time while she would feel completely comfortable eating two or three M&Ms at a time. Margo on the other hand prefers to eat as many as she can in one mouthful for either Smarties or M&Ms.

One interesting thing to note, both Smarties (developed first) and M&Ms were created for soldiers to give them a quick burst of energy. This writer can completely understand the logic behind such product development, particularly if the soldiers were between 5 and 3/4 and 8 years of age.

For a completely thorough comparison of these two candy coated chocolate confections, visit the head-to-head comparison on Candyblog.

Looking for a colorful mobility tie-in, it appears these candies have inspired a new line of mobile phone handsets for children. Japanese operator Willcom has introduced a phone named NICO targeted at kids ages 7 to 12, with M&M buttons in Smartie colors.

If you have an opinion on which candy is better, feel free to use this blog as your forum. If you have an opinion on which color NICO phone is best, likewise you’re invited to leave your comments here.

technorati tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations
del.ico.us tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations
icerocket tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations

So you’ve got an informal breakfast meeting in Toronto with one of Canada’s premier VCs. This superb opportunity to establish a long-term relationship depends as much on the restaurant as it does the industry savvy you demonstrate.

While Toronto has dozens of breakfast dining options, three stand head-and-shoulders above the rest – for various reasons – and the one chosen says a lot about you and the VC.

Tim Horton’s, the Great White North’s cousin to Krispy Kreme (sans the industrial donut extruder and roller assembly line), offers a ‘shock and awe’ inducing array of donuts, bagels and uniquely Canadian breakfast pastries, most notably the ‘duchy.’ The eats are great – and you’ll never tire of endless ‘pass the duchy par the left hand side’ quips – but Tim Horton’s is perhaps a little too informal for that crucial first meeting.

The King Edwards Hotel (”King Eddie” in local parlance) offers the classy, upscale dining experience you’d expect of a 4-star hotel named after British royalty (not the heir apparents mind you). You can’t go wrong with the King Eddie, but it’s an inherently safe bet that may be a bit too formal for an informal meeting.

Le Petit Dejeuner is a favorite with Toronto locals in-the-know and for several good reasons. First and foremost the food is 4-star. The ‘eggy bread’ (French toast that’s nicely carmelized) and the fluffy scrambled eggs are particular favorites. The décor is eclectic enough to induce grins and serve as an ice breaker, but is not overtly kitsch. There’s a quiet hum from other patrons, but this serves as white noise to keep your conversation contained to your table. The booths are too small for more than four (two if you’re both of defensive lineman proportions), but this is about the only issue. Le Petit Dejeuner is an excellent place for an informal business meeting, and an even better place for Sunday breakfast. Score!

technorati tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations
del.ico.us tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations
icerocket tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations

Long time, no post. The entire MoPR team has been swamped. The good news, we’re working for clients!

Last week the MoPR team made its second excursion into Canada. This time, we headed east to Toronto. It was a jam-packed few days, but in between client meetings, breakfasts with venture capitalists and brunches with editors, we did manage to have a good time. By the way, if you’re in town, try Le Petit Dejeuner on King East for breakfast or brunch. No doubt Melissa will write about her crunchy eggie bread. John G is working on his power breakfast post too.

First and foremost, it was essential to right an egregious wrong. Stacy was the only person in the MoPR team never to have dined at Harvey’s. Not only did she get to eat at Harvey’s, but she got to sit in an actual restaurant and not inside a Home Depot as the rest of us did in Vancouver. But just like the rest of us, Stacy chose poutine.

Toronto is a beautiful and amazing city. We were lucky that we had an opportunity to fit in some sightseeing and spend a night out with our new clients (shhh… their name is a secret for now).

Our secret client took us out to a great Mexican dinner and then to the world famous Second City - Toronto sketch comedy theatre (I’m using Canadian spelling for a little added flavour), the improv troup that gave rise to the careers of Dan Akroyd, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Mike Myers and so many others. We laughed our asses off! It was a ribald good time, and none of us will ever look at a three-toed sloth the same way again. No doubt members of this cast will be among the notable alumni of SST.

Stay tuned for more posts about our trip to Toronto.

technorati tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations
del.ico.us tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations
icerocket tags: MoPR mobility public relations PR media relations