With everyone being more conscience of what they put in their bodies these days, Atkinson Candy is making a bold move. Updating what is their most iconic candy, the Chick-O-Stick. These are one of my all time favorites. But what if you could make it even better. They are taking out the artificial colors and flavors, while trying to maintain the taste we all know and love. They have always used real peanut butter and toasted coconut, proudly made here in Lufkin, Texas. So it shouldn't take much tweaking to go all natural.

“We want to make candies that consumers can feel good about,” says President Eric Atkinson. “This isn’t a radical change in formulation, but a small tweak that will resonate with today’s ingredient-conscious consumers.”
The packaging and logo is undergoing a makeover that is intended to speak to the simplicity, wholesomeness and heritage of the product.
“There are brand elements that are essential to the Chick-O-Stick, and those won’t be going away, but we are making some changes to bring a younger demographic along,” says John Leipold, vice president, sales and marketing.  Source - Candy Industry

Even with their close proximity to the chicken plant, no there is no chicken in the Chick-O-Stick. I think I am due a visit to the factory store, there seems to be a lot of new products that I need to see. They already have a sugar free version of the Chick-O-Stick that is sweetened with Splenda.

They have really expanded the hours of the factory store, located at 1608 W. Frank Ave, since I last checked. They are open from 9am-4pm Monday - Friday. So I think instead of working today I should just stop by. They are releasing this new version of the Chick-O-Stick just in time for summer at the Sweets & Snacks Expo May 21st-23rd in Chicago.

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