We’ve Been “Nom”inated!
We heart VegNews Magazine and we’re so thrilled to be nominated, once again, for three VegNews Veggie Awards this year. 
As you may know, in 2004 we won a Veggie Award for Best Brownie and in 2006 we won again as the Favorite Bakery (Online). This year we’re up for:
1. Favorite Bakery (Online)
2. Favorite Vegan Candy (our Chocolate Almond Toffee)
3. Favorite VegNews Column (Veganize It! by our founder and mastermind Allison Rivers Samson)
In recent years the proliferation of vegan food options, especially vegan baked goods, has really skyrocketed, and we’re so pleased about that. More options mean more people exposed to the vegan lifestyle in a positive way and more possibilities for omnivores to experience how excellent vegan food can be. But, all those options do make it harder for a small company like ours to get recognized, even if our products are premium-quality and better than anything else on the market. So, we hope you’ll vote for us in all three categories of the 2011 Veggie Awards and give some love to the little guy (or gal as it may be)!
Just in case you need an extra incentive, voting gets you automatically entered to win some really awesome prizes including a vegan vacation and a year’s supply of vegan ice cream! Hurry, polls close August 31st!
Meet Our Celebrity Judges!
With just over a month left to enter our Tee and Tote Design Contest, the buzz is growing and designs are starting to come in. We’re beginning to look forward to the excitement of choosing our winners! First, we need you and your friends to submit your most awesome designs and slogans. Then, after you’ve submitted your artwork, online voting will commence on September 16th. This will be your chance to tell everyone what you’ve been up to and encourage them to vote for your design. This round of voting will narrow the field to 10 finalists.
After those 10 finalists have been chosen, Allison will sit down with our panel of celebrity judges to choose the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place designs. Who are these celebrity judges, you ask? I’m here to tell you… we are so grateful to the following talented and dynamic individuals for helping us with this contest! In case you’ve been wondering about them, here’s a little bit about each of our amazing all-star judges:
Colleen Holland, one of the masterminds at VegNews Magazine, is an expert in marketing and brand-building who also studied at the Natural Gourmet Institute. She loves our chocolate almond toffee and vanilla chai fudge.
Gene Baur, co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, grew up in Hollywood and worked in commercials for McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants before going vegan in 1985 and beginning his true calling campaigning for the rights of farm animals.
Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, the goddess behind Vaute Couture, backs up her eye for design with a background in activism. She has been vegetarian since age 10, and vegan since she was 17, when she helped push a bill into law for dissection alternatives in Illinois schools.
Nathan Runkle, founder and executive director of Mercy for Animals, has been named one of the “25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians” and one of the country’s “Top 20 Activists Under 30 Years Old.” In 2009 he became the youngest person ever inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame.
Glamazon Chloé Jo Davis blogs at GirlieGirlArmy.com and loves our “orgasmic fudge and brownies.” She’s the sexist eco-goddess, vegan fashion expert, animal rights activist, and green mama we know. Among many other titles, she was recently named a “Rule Changer” by Italian Elle.
The dynamic husband and wife duo Troy Farmer and Katie Frichtel at Raven + Crow Studio do truly excellent graphic design work and also run a blog, Kindness of Ravens, where they write about design, music, fashion, and (what else?) vegan food.
Springtime Toffee Talk
We know the winter weather has the potential to influence our moods and wardrobes, but what is its effect on our palates? 
I know I crave richer, warmer foods in the winter, especially comfort foods like mashed potatoes and Mac ‘n’ Cheese. But I’ve found that in the last few weeks I’ve started looking forward to spring in my meal planning. Do you find yourself fixing simple salads and fresh fruits in lieu of heartier fare after Daylight Savings Time or do you wait until the warmth of Summer hits? 
If you’re feeling like some Summertime foods in anticipation of warmer months to come, you might like Allison’s Grilled Tempeh Reubens and Tuna(less) Salad Sandwiches from her column “Veganize It!” in VegNews Magazine. What’s your favorite springtime meal?
If you’re also seeking a sweet snack in sync with the springtime season, nothing tops our Vegan Toffee. 
The buttery, breakable treat makes for the perfect post-lunch or after-dinner bite when you’re craving something decadent but not too heavy.
Our toffee is available in two luscious flavors: Classic Almond Toffee, flecked with toasted organic almonds, and Chocolate Almond Toffee, crested with a layer of dark chocolate.
Feeling adventurous? Try…
Breaking off a piece and dropping it into your morning cup of organic coffee.
Adding it to your favorite baking recipes.
Crushing it up as a topping for your favorite non-dairy ice cream.
Or, tell us your favorite ways to enjoy Allison’s Gourmet vegan toffee!
Send a Chocolate “I Love You”
Most people agree that nothing says “I love you” like chocolate, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give the same kind of chocolate every Valentine’s Day. After all, there are so many ways to enjoy chocolate! For lovers of chocolate candy we offer chocolate-covered vegan toffee, and peanut brittle beautifully united with chocolate caramels in our Chocolate Lover’s Gift Set. 
For those more inclined towards baked goods we have myriad vegan brownie flavors and Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies as well as rich, creamy Drinking Chocolate to go with them. And, of course, for truly decadent chocolate gifts there’s always vegan fudge in flavors like Chocolate Orange, Java Crunch and Chipotle Cinnamon.
Order now and choose a delayed delivery date of February 10th for shipment in perfect time for Valentine’s Day!
Loving Vegan Toffee
We just made another fresh batch of chocolate covered vegan toffee this morning, and let me tell you, it is beautiful! Crispy, sweet and crunchy, with that lavish chocolate layer to finish it off; this really is one of my favorite confections of all time. It’s also one of our most popular, flying out the door almost as fast as we can make it.
Can you tell I’m really loving our vegan toffee right now? Just wanted to share that love with all of you!
Still Time for Valentine’s Day Orders
There’s still time to order your chocolate gifts for Valentine’s Day. Order placed before 9am Thursday with Overnight or 2-day air Saturday shipping will be shipped for delivery before the 14th.
If you’re wanting to send a 
chocolate gift that’s a little more original than a box of chocolates, consider salty-sweet peanut butter cups, luscious peppermint creme patties, crispy chocolate covered peanut brittle, elegant chocolate almond toffee, or sensational peppermint bark. We package all our orders in beautiful gift boxes, and you can choose from several varieties of wrapping paper and a hand-written gift card for that personal touch.
Picking Favorites: Vegan Toffee
Customers often ask me which of our products is my favorite, which is a little like asking someone to pick their favorite child. So I can’t pick just one, but I will tell you that one of my favorite products, one that I recommend to everyone who asks, is our vegan toffee. A delectable new twist on a classic English confection, our sweet, crunchy, caramel toffee is layered with plenty of toasted almonds for that perfectly nutty flavor balance. Whether you prefer it original or chocolate covered, this vegan toffee is just like the good stuff you remember, only better, because it’s organic, too!
And the Winner is …
(Drumroll, please!) 
Congratulations to Jessica, the lucky winner of our Thanksgiving Treasure Hunt Giveaway! Jessica will receive a scrumptious order of one of our most popular confections, Chocolate Almond Toffee. If you haven’t tried it yourself, treat yourself to some. You deserve it! (It also makes a wonderful holiday gift!)
