“A Century Old Name In The Quality Confectionary Business Continues Its Growth; GLS A Part Of Its New Business Model”

A sweet client indeed

In 1907 a young woman by the name of Maud Borup began making candy in her home kitchen in Saint Paul, Minnesota. With the praise and urging of family and friends, she opened a candy counter in downtown Saint Paul. That candy counter blossomed into a business that served decades of delighted customers with exquisite confections.

Although it has transformed with the times, Maud Borup still offers quality chocolates and other confections inspired by a tradition of quality — and childhood memories.

The new business model

The company’s transformation into a modern, growing business serving major markets came in 2006 when Christine Lantinen purchased the company. Her vision: to grow the company from a small, boutique retail operation into national retail markets.

To do it, she re-invented the company as one that develops and offers major retailers confectionary gifts in custom packaging — some carry the Maud Borup brand, others a private label. Said simply, the company wholesales chocolate and other candies in unique gift packaging to meet retailers’ needs — like Wal-Mart and Target.

The concept took off

At first, many of the packages were tins, imported from China. But the demand for clever, fun, box packaging grew rapidly; packages designed with seasonal themes. Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas brought retailers and their customers colorful, fun seasonal confectionary gifts.

CEO Lantinen remembers that bringing their products to market involved “old school” methods. “Our design team was developing box concepts with an X-acto knife, gluing and mocking up by hand! It was time consuming and not very cost-effective.”

A partnership was born

Christine was looking for a solution. The business opportunities for boxed products were expanding rapidly, the in-house methods weren’t cutting it (pun intended) and the company was seeking the right printer partnership as well. A designer she worked with suggested getting in touch with Account Executive John LaBahn at GLS Companies. “The timing was great,” says Lantinen. “They were the right-sized company and they have all the services we needed. It was a good fit.”

Nowadays, the people at Maud Borup and GLS work together on an almost daily basis. The company’s design team often meets at GLS to discuss new product lines and seasonal packaging ideas. Then Sharon Tarble, GLS’ CAD operator works up a design and the team mocks it up for approval or modification. (Lantinen praises Sharon’s work saying she is “incredibly creative.”) When finalized, it’s back to Maud Borup where designers apply the graphics and prepare for printing and die cutting back at GLS.

GLS’ printing capabilities are a major asset as well. With capabilities — and experience — in everything from embossing and specialty coatings to UV printing, GLS can offer a wide range of both creative and cost options. “John has been great,” says Christine. “He always has suggestions and when we can’t be there he attends every press check to make sure everything is just right. John is amazing!”

A profitable relationship

It’s a team effort that works, an effort where everyone wins. The designers who used to spend time in a back room with scissors and knives are now free to do the things they do best — like concept development and graphic design. “Nobody lost their job, now we can stay focused on creative ideas and leave the rest to GLS,” she says. “It’s a relationship that saves us money and makes our jobs easier as well.”

To learn more about Maud Borup and how it works with businesses visit www.maudborup.com.