Washington, DC – The National Confectioners Association is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2015 Confectionery Leadership Awards. The awards celebrate the recipients' contributions to the category through their effective business collaboration, category management best practices, and innovations in merchandising confectionery products in-store.
The Leadership Awards Committee took several nominations by industry colleagues under examination and, after careful review, selected Mike Maslen, vice president of sales for the Hudson Group and Dave Schulze, senior buyer, candy for the H.E. Butt Grocery Company (H-E-B) based on their creativity, innovative thinking, leadership and support of the category.
Mike Maslen
Vice President of Sales,
Hudson Group
Dave Schulze
Senior Buyer, Candy,
H-E-B
“This award recognizes the talent and dedication of the industry's retail customers, those who go above and beyond expectations," says NCA's Vice President of Customer Relations Larry Wilson. "There were many deserving and worthy candidates submitted for the 2015 Confectionery Leadership Award, but the committee felt strongly that Mike and Dave truly exemplify the visionary thinking it takes to propel the category forward."
Maslen, whose company operates 770 newsstands and sundry shops, praised the entire Hudson Group team. "While I am truly honored to have been selected by the committee to receive one of this year's Confectionery Leadership Awards, the recognition is a reflection of my colleagues at Hudson Group, the manufacturers and brokers I work with in the industry, and my family. Without everyone's support this would not be possible."
H-E-B's Schulze, whose San Antonio, Texas-based company operates 350 grocery stores, also credits his colleagues. "H-E-B is honored to be recognized with a Confectionery Leadership Award," Schulze told NCA. "The credit really goes to the entire H-E-B Candy Team, our store operations folks, and our loyal Texas customer base. H-E-B is truly a great place to work and shop!"
NCA and Candy & Snack TODAY magazine created the awards program in 2011 to recognize and honor the confectionery industry’s best and most innovative category champions and leaders. The program allows NCA manufacturers and brokers to recognize outstanding retailers and wholesalers in the confectionery community for their effective customer marketing, shopper-driven shelving practices, and promotion of new items.
Maslen and Schulze will be presented with their awards in Miami at NCA’s annual State of the Industry Conference, February 16 – 19, 2015.
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About the National Confectioners Association – The National Confectioners Association is the Washington, DC-based trade group representing the $34 billion U.S. confectionery industry and comprised of 320 member companies that manufacture and market the vast majority of chocolate confectionery, sugar confectionery and gum sold in the United States, 225 companies who supply those manufacturers and 115 brokerage companies who serve as third party sales agents for manufacturers. Serving as the voice of the industry, NCA advocates for a pro-business policy agenda, helps the industry understand and implement food safety and other regulations, provides information to help members strengthen their business in today’s competitive environment and fosters relationships between all sectors of the industry. There are confectionery manufacturers in more than 40 states employing approximately 70,000 confectionery workers in more than 1,000 facilities across the U.S. Candy is a special treat that represents a small portion of the calories in the average American diet, making up roughly 2 percent of the average person’s caloric intake.
Source: National Confectioners Association
