Part of my mission as The GlutenFree Advocate is to help the gluten-free community find products that surpass the glutenfull product we’re replacing in areas of excellent flavor, value, gluten-free assurance, dye-free, natural ingredients, and high quality. Of course, I am more than willing to pay the higher price when the product meets these criteria. However, for me to justify the extra premium, the product and experience needs to reflect these expectations. Indie Candy’s Back-to-School Candy Bucket was extremely appealing because it seemed to meet these criteria. In the end, did I end up with a product that met these crucial criteria?
About a month ago, GlutenFreeVille shared a press release from Indie Candy in AL, announcing their “Back to School Bucket.” It’s filed under “news” and her comments were minimal, expressing this could be a neat idea and might be helpful. I was thrilled to see such a product because my daughter started Kindergarten this year and from our experience last year in a public pre-school, I understand the value of such an item. My daughter missed out on a lot because the teacher always forgot to let me know she needed something special. I saved up and purchased the bucket the first week of school.
My expectancy was high for this product, so high I was hoping to do a (self funded) giveaway if I liked it. The press release and website are impressive, the picture of candy bucket looks wonderful, and their verbiage makes them sound like they take care and go to great lengths for their customers. Sadly, I’m not only extremely disappointed with the contents, value of the school bucket and customer service, but have serious quality issues.
Order Experience
I ordered the “Back to School Bucket” Monday August 15th and while I received an email order confirmation, I never got a shipping notification. The product description said, “usually ships in 3-5 days.” I waited and waited. By Tuesday Aug 23rd, I became concerned about my shipment and looked it up on the site since I was sent no tracking number. It said “shipped,” but had no tracking number attached. I finally received it on the Thursday Aug 25th, (10 days later) in my POSTAL mail box.
Bucket Contents
Upon first and lasting Impression this bucket seems like a small bucket of lollipops I paid $45
When I opened my package the very small bucket surprised me, but the huge disappointment came when I opened the bucket and saw it full of lollipops. Instead of the gorgeous beautiful candy from the photo, I opened to a bucket of sticks.
Of course, upon pulling the lollipops out, there are a few other items, but the main contents of the bucket is lollipops and small-dime size hard candies. Furthermore, the actual contents of the bucket are only about $42 worth of candy at Indie Candy’s RETAIL prices. When I contacted customer service with my concerns about the bucket value and contents, my complaints were completely ignored and refuted.
This candy is exactly the size of a dime. Solid objects smaller than quarter are considered choking hazards for children.
Here is a copy of my email to customer service regarding the contents:
Hi, I just received my order for a back to school bucket. I saw it featured on GlutenFreeVille and was extremely excited given that you provide natural candies that are colored naturally, etc. In fact, it seems like a fantastic product and deal.
Although I realize that you have everything in one place and have gone to great lengths to gathers these candies and produce them, I am extremely disappointed with this my order.
First, it took a lot longer to get to me than I anticipated. My biggest problem is this bucket is filled with mostly lollipops and a lot of hard candy. I have a kindergartener. She can’t have the drops. However, even more disappointing is that, it’s not a good deal at all. In fact, had I purchased most of these on my own or equivalent, i would have purchased them for much less than what I bought. The chocolate covered cookies aren’t labeled a big deal with allergen foods. And your prices are expensive. I can buy the lollipops for 4.40 at Natural Grocers, double the size of gummies in the form of Surf Sweets for 2.75oz at Natural Grocers. You charge 2.39 for the Surf Sweets and 1.99 for these gummies that are only 1 oz. My surf sweets package is 2.75 oz.
I just added the worth of the candy in the bucket I received and it comes to $42.45. The bucket is clearly not an almost $3 bucket.
Considering how long I had to wait for my shipment, what it contains, etc, this is an extremely disappointing product. I don’t want my 5-year-old having lollipops all the time. The Yummy Earth lollipops and Zoo Animal lollipops are way too many lollipops!
Quite frankly, I think this is an extremely bad deal and am very very disappointed in what I received. I’d expect to get at least $45-55 worth of candy considering I’d expect you can buy in bulk.
Is there anything that can be done regarding this order?
Thank you very much for your time.
Please notice, I acknowledged they have worked hard to place good products and allergen-free candy in once place, and I compared their candy with the same brands or similar and same quality I can purchase in the store. However, some of the contents are inappropriate for a classroom and they put only $42.50 of RETAIL value (their set retail value) in a bucket they charge $45 (The $1.99 1oz gummies are only about 6 gummies per package.) The site says, “please email us if you have suggestions or questions.” I definitely had a few suggestions for the bucket.
The response from Indie Candy didn’t address any of my concerns, blamed me for the shipping I chose, and talked about candy from China being cheap, but not quality candy. It didn’t resolve any issue. Editorial note: I didnt’ know Hanson Watkins is Ms. Watkins. I apologize for the gender mistake. All should be Ms. Watkins. thank you.
Here is his response:
I am so sorry that you are disappointed in your order. Our website lists what is in the bucket, so there shouldn’t have been any surprise concerning the contents. From our website:
Each Box includes:
3 Chocolate Covered Cookies
6 Packs of Gummies
4 Hard Candy Lollipops
2 Chocolate Lollipops
2 Tart Pouches
Yummy Earth Dots
Yummy Earth Lollipops
The goal of our Back to School Buckets is to provide a shelf stable option that can be kept for at least several months in the classroom. That is why we include the products that we do – both to provide seasonal variety and also be shelf stable.
We have worked hard to include the best of the products available on the market that fit our criteria of all natural and allergy friendly. There are very few products that fit that criteria. A problem I discovered while dealing with my child’s food issues.
In terms of price, our products are hand made from high quality, specifically sourced ingredients to be all natural and allergen free. These products are not made in China with questionable ingredients. These days it seems that candy is so cheap especially at the regular grocery store and at Walmart, but you get what you pay for in that regard. In addition to the cost of the candy there is also the labor costs of handling and shipping which are not small costs.
In terms of shipping, you received your item within 8 days – not surprising since you chose 7 day ground. We actually shipped it 2 day at our expense due to the heat.
We take a lot of pride in our products and creating options for families with food allergies.
I am so sorry you were not pleased.
Hanson Watkins
Indie Candy
naturally gourmet sweets
That is it. There is nothing offered to help resolve the issue, there is no offer to exchange the drops. Although Indie Candy gives a general list on their product description, to be fair, that list appears in a second page. The first page for the bucket, the page from which I actually added the bucket to the cart, does not have a list. Between the photo and the press release, I thought I was getting a good product. Yes, I realize that’s my fault for not clicking on the very tiny gray “more info” link, but I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one who made that mistake. I was in a hurry, the “Back to School” link opened right up to the bucket, so I added to cart and placed my order.
If you actually click on “more info” the list still doesn’t say what kind of 6 packages of gummies you get or the size you receive; they carry lots of gummy pouches including Surf Sweets 2.75 oz pouches, but bucket contains their small 1 oz gummies. They fail to list almost 5.8 oz of Yummy Earth lollipops (about 24) in addition to the other 4 large lollipops. The chocolate covered cookies are completely unlabeled. In fact, I didn’t know what they were until I read his email and re-read the list. Mr. Watkins also didn’t address my issue with the abundance of hard candy drops for a kindergartener (the Yummy Earth drops are about dime size and hard). I also discovered after my first email to them when I was showing my husband that the 2 small 1oz chocolate lollipops (that were hidden amongst the rest of the lollipops) were had it turned white and the cocoa butter has crystalized.
Compromised chocolate; crumbly, crystalized & so bad DH who will eat any chocolate said it's terrible & tossed it
I also admit I’m confused because I don’t see how they honored their stated shipping conditions. I qualified for “FREE SHIPPING” which I expected to be FedEx because the site says, under shipping conditions is Expedited Fed-Ex. Simply look for the logo to enjoy free shipping on selected items throughout the store. If the items in your order which qualify for ‘Free Shipping’ total $50 or more, your order ships FREE! Expedited Shipping Fed Ex Home Delivery has the same delivery times as Ground shipping. So, I should have at least gotten a tracking number and fed-ex shipment and not a box to sit in a hot sun-exposed mail box all day because that’s what they say they do. I was also waiting several days for Fed-Ex to show up. Further more, Indie Candy also also told me they shipped it “2 day, to be nice” but it was shipped on Aug 22, and I received it on Aug 25. Finally, the site says, “Ships in 3-5 days,” and it took 7 days to ship.
I emailed Indie Candy one more time before posting this review asking for a refund and discussing the issue of the bloomed chocolate. He said because these are food products, “they cannot return the item,” even though the website actually states: “Contact us for more information regarding returning an item.” If there is a “no refund” policy, it should be blatantly stated. Mr. Watkins also blamed the bloomed (he used the term “bloomed”) chocolate on the heat from shipping and told me it’s my problem.
I am sorry that you are disappointed. However, we shipped what was listed in the time frame described for the price described. By law we are not allowed to accept food returns even if unopened….(end first email)….(second email regarding the bloomed chocolate)…In terms of the bloomed chocolate, we have a warm weather shipping policy that states that we cannot be responsible for chocolate shipped during high temp seasons. Almost all chocolate companies have this policy or do not ship during hot weather. Our policy suggests that you ship overnight or two day during this time. You chose 7 day ground as your shipping option. To be nice, we sent it 2 day on our dime because we knew that your candy would have been wrecked in a truck for 7 days in this heat.
We include reduced cost cold packs and insulation during hot weather. Most chocolate companies charge high prices for this service.
In terms of being able to buy the same items less expensively elsewhere, our products have the same SRP wherever sold.
Again I am sorry that you are disappointed.
I happen to purchase from an amazing chocolate company that has gluten-free chocolate Chocoley and they charge $6.95 for a cold pack. If heat were the issue, the chocolate covered cookies should have also been white, but they were not bloomed nor compromised, only the lollipops. Furthermore, if the heat had truly caused a problem, the lollipops should be unrecognizable and melted, not white. You can see above, the detail is intact. Bloom is actually due to poor storage conditions, excess moisture, and or incorrect tempering. According to the Chocoley site Streaks and bloom in the finished product chocolate are due to temperature and moisture. I’ve also found white streaks occur when the chocolate is old and stored poorly.
In terms of honoring what’s described, the press release from Indie Candy on GlutenFreeVille stated the bucket would be personalized; it isn’t and there was no option to personalize, so they also failed to “ship what was described.” The Indie Candy website does not declare “all sales final and products cannot be returned,” as Mr. Watkins stated as part of the reason for no refund.
While going through the candy for the review, I noticed some black marks on several of tags. The chocolate lollipops weren’t affected by heat, they have passed their “best by” date by almost 6 months! Someone went to great care to cross out expired dates. Later, I discovered even the Yummy Earth Drops and lollipops are also sticky, which usually indicates age, exposure to moisture, and poor storage for a hard candy.
Here is a lollipop they forgot to black out with the best-by date of 3/11
On the tag, the date 3/11 has been crossed out with a sharpie. From what I can tell, this chocolate has been sitting around at least 18 months because 3 other candies had a best-by date of 8/12.
This best-by date has been blacked out by a black sharpie marker; it's the tag for the " shipping compromised" chocolate
(click on any of the images to enlarge)
Upon further checking the tags, I found two other quality issues. Out of the “fancy candies” that make up the “worth” of the bucket, 3 (2 pricy lollipops and 1 gummy) candies had no best-by date, and 6 candies (2 of the gummies, 2 (both) chocolate lollipops, and 2 of the zoo lollipops) best-by dates of 3/11 were crossed out with a sharpie pen. So, I paid a lot of money for expired, old candy. Out of 12 “speciality” products (not including the yummy earth drops, cookies w/no label, and yummy earth lollipops), I have 6 fully expired, compromised items, 3 completely unknown how old, and only 3 I know are fresh with an expiration of 8/12.
6 out of 12 Indie Candy products have expiration crossed out with the sharpie (3 don't have a date)
Please note, I eat stuff past the best by date all the time, but to purchase it at full price, no. Charging full price for expired food (especially compromised chocolate) and marking out the best-by date so the consumer doesn’t know is downright disturbing and seems unethical. They know they have old chocolate in-stock, yet Mr. Watkins still blamed it on shipping. He also went off on a tangent about “These days it seems that candy is so cheap especially at the regular grocery store and at Walmart, but you get what you pay for in that regard.” Ok, Mr. Watkins, I paid $45 for expired chocolate, expired lollipops, expired gummies, sticky Yummy Earth drops, and more lollipops I can pick up for $4.40 at Natural Grocers? Why did I get that when I paid the premium you say it costs for this candy?
At this point frustrated, disappointed and realizing my daughter needed new age appropriate treats, I decided to do a little experiment and go to my local Natural Grocers to find out what $45 of candy really looks like. I had more than I had gotten in the Indie bucket by $29.99, but I wanted to see what I would get if I’d simply gone to the store with a $45 limit.
Value
See for yourself: Here is the bucket I received from Indie Candy which is their retail of about $42 (priced at $45) compared with my own $44.38 spent shopping at Natural Grocers.
The $45 bucket of candy on the left table; my $44.38 of candy from Natural Grocers on the Right
Although I already have an abundance of Yummy Earth lollipops, I purchased about the same amount they gave me for comparison. I also got extra gummies because they didn’t have tarts, and dime-size hard candy were unacceptable. I purchased an entire package of KTOOs instead of 3 cookies, for 1/2 price of the 3 chocolate covered cookies (that use that brand of cookie). Indie Candy’s 3 chocolate cookies came out to $6.75 (they charge $13.50 for 6!); my Ktoos were $3.49. Their 1 oz chocolate lollipops (old) were $2.29 each; my certified 3oz GF chocolate bars are 2.65 each (almost 3x the amount for BETTER chocolate). Since it’s my daughter’s bucket, I will package those into snack bags 1 oz each. I also purchased some Glutino pretzels that I’ll package in 10 for a less-sugar non-candy treat, as well as several versions of fruit rolls.
If I were doing a bucket with age appropriate items comparable to those sent to me, it would be the following:
5 Packages of Annies Bunny Gummies (replaces the zoo lollipops)- 5 pkg for $2.99
6 package of Surf Sweets @ 1.65 ea (replaces the gummies 2.75 oz instead of 1 oz) $9.90
1 chocolate bar (still gives me 1 more oz chocolate than I got) $2.65
3 cookies approx 16 cents each so $0.48 (I can even chocolate cover them for a minimal charge)
Package of Yummy Earth Lollipops 5 oz for $3.55
Fruit To Go Nuggets to replace the tarts 2 pkg .54 per unit $1.08
2 pkg of Surf Sweets Sours to replace the drops….drops were 3.3 oz I got, 2 pkg of surf sweets is 5.25 oz. $3.30
Total RETAIL cost- $23.95
My profit margin would have been $21+….(not counting time for buying and sorting about 30 minutes) but that’s also paying RETAIL prices from MY store, not wholesale or amazon prices. (From Indie, I would have also paid shipping, but I got free because i ordered $10 of caramel to bump my order over $50.)
What I got for $44.08 from my store is
5 packs of Annie’s HomeGrown Fruit Snacks
2 3 oz Certified GF Endangered Specieschocolate bars
6 packs Fruit to go Nuggets
4 Cliff Organic Twisted fruit (akin to licorice)
21 Kinninnick Ktoos cookies (I’ll put these in packs of 3, maybe even chocolate cover them)
2 Surf Sweets Gummy Bears
4 Surf Sweets Sour Swirls
2 Surf Sweets Gummy Worms
2 Surf Sweets Sour Bears
6 Fruit to go roll up type things
5.5 oz Package of Glutino Yogurt Covered Pretzels (yes, these have dairy, we aren’t CF and I’ll count these as the chocolate covered cookies!)
5 oz package of Yummy Earth lollipops
2 Surf Sweets other type bears
(yes, I really like Surf Sweets, they taste the most natural and wonderful!) I would have bought a few packages of their jelly beans, but our VC didn’t have them.
I tried to use the standard put forth by Indie Candy. Most candies I purchased to compare are either products that Indie Candy carries or that would fit their standards of low allergen. I did choose chocolate bars that had Diary b/c I like that Brand and we aren’t CF, and I chose the pretzels b/c DD can have Casein. However, even if you take those two things completely out, you still end up with more candy and a better deal than I received and paid a premium.
Bottom Line Indie Candy believes their Back-to-School bucket is worth much more than it is. Between poor quality, compromised product, failure to meet their description and extremely bad customer service, this bucket fails to meet all my criteria for a product worth paying a premium price. Furthermore on top of poor value and quality issues, the bucket isn’t even school safe for the younger kids. Besides the small Drops issue, even lollipops can be dangerous if the children are given something just before recess. With the bucket being mostly lollipops, it leaves little room for alternatives when needed.
Alternate Solution
My daughter's new bucket. It took less than 5 minutes to put together, cost less than $20 and she LOVED helping put it together.
Go to your local
Natural Grocers/Vitamin Cottage,
Whole Foods, or your favorite local co-op store. Then, have your child help you put their special bucket or “treasure chest” together. It was a blast building my daughter’s bucket this morning and her eyes lit up with delight as she picked out things and saw what she gets as her treats.
Better yet, get free shipping on Amazon Subscribe and Save and maybe go in with a few parents to provide the entire class with packages of Surf Sweets, gluten-free packages of Ktoos, and/or other goodies for about $60-70 and keep your child completely included in the class by helping provide a treasure box for the entire class. For close to the same price, your child would no longer have a “separate special bucket,” they could enjoy the same candy as the rest of the kids! You’ll also keep red-dyes & HFCS out of the class for everyone, so the teacher will love you! Moreover, Teachers pay for the treats themselves, so help pay-it-forward a bit and help keep your child included at the same time.
In the end, I paid $45 for a bunch of lollipops and inedible candy, and Indie Candy doesn’t seem care. They “sent the bucket as described” was their final answer to me. Some of their products seem to be okay, but the poor value and frustration with customer service definitely overshadowed anything good.
Thanks as Always for reading and hope you find great deals and solutions for your kids!
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