Our Enhanced Web Store

We are excited to announce that we have upgraded our site to make it easier for you to navigate. You’ll find it operates more like Amazon’s web store. But we think you’ll find ours even simpler to use.

This year, when you order online, you’ll notice that you need to “Create an Account” if you want to store your billing information and shipping addresses on our secure site for your future use. (We regret that this upgrade did not permit us to save the billing and shipping information and addresses you may have stored on our old web store.)

All you need to do is enter your name and address, and create a password (DON’T FORGET TO CHECK THE CREATE AN ACCOUNT BOX!) You will then be able to add your shipping addresses, and store them, too for saved time and easy on future orders.

Multiple Shipping Addresses

We have also worked hard to enhance our “Multiple Order” interface, to improve your shopping experience with us. This is useful for those of you who send our candy to multiple recipients for Christmas and other holidays. If you Create an Account, you’ll only have to enter your gift recipients’ shipping addresses once, here and they’ll be saved for your future use.

Select all the items you want to send first, then on the first checkout page, click the “Set Multiple Addresses” button.

You will then be able to load addresses, one at a time, then assign the addresses to the products in your shopping cart – either as you go along, or after you’ve entered all of your shipping addresses.  Note that when you use this online facility for multiple orders, your gift message will be the same for each order. To assign a unique message to each shipment, enter each order separately.

Or, you can use the printed mail-in Order Form included with your catalog. Just attach a typed copy of additional shipping addresses, and indicate which products you want shipped to each. We will be happy to enter your order for you.

You can also print this form from our web site: a link to the form is located at the top of our Shop our Products page. You may then fax it or mail it to our business office for processing.

Wholesale Link

You may also notice there is a link for Wholesale Customers in the upper right hand corner of the page.  We are growing our business by selling through wholesale outlets across the country.

Will you help us spread the word? If you know a grocer or gift shop owner/manager who might be interested in our products, please direct them to this link on our web site.  There they will find answers to frequently asked questions, product and pricing information, and an order form that they can submit online.

Thank you!!  The Sisters of Mount Saint Mary’s Abbey appreciate your continued support!

Ruth Willemain, age 79, of Harmony House of Western Massachusetts  would have loaded all 70 cases of our candy into her van, if we had let her!  She’s a woman with a dream and a plan.  And she won’t let anything stand in her way.

Ruth, a Holyoke resident, and her friend, Jeanne St. Pierre, 82, of Chicopee, MA, took delivery of over $7,000 worth of Butter Nut Munch, Chocolate Squares, and Chocolate Almond Squares (Bark), Fudge and Penuche from our loading dock here in Wrentham.

Their dream: Harmony House of Western Massachusetts – a loving home where people living their final days will find love, peace and comfort.

And their plan: to continue with their fund raising efforts until they are able to purchase and staff that home – and build a lasting structure of support around it. Selling Trappistine Quality Candy has been part of their fund-raising efforts from the start.

And the Sisters of Mount St. Marys Abbey are delighted that the work of their hands and their prayer is going out to do more good.

Ruth, after 45 years of teaching, went into hospice and nursing home care. A friend of her sister’s was a resident at a similar home for the terminally ill, in Cleveland, OH – Malachi House of Hope – and they paid a visit.

“I walked through the doors and I was enveloped by love,” Ruth shared. “This was not an ordinary place.  I immediately wanted to spread this ministry by founding a similar home in my area.”

“Malachi House has been operating for 26 years, and has never taken a cent from its residents,” adds Willemain. “We hope to be able to do the same.”

Ruth and Jeanne decided on using Trappistine Quality Candy for their fund raising after a visit to St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA – a community of Trappist monks who are “brothers” to the Trappistines of Trappistine Quality Candy.    The monks touted the candy as the best around, and a customer in the shop echoed that sentiment.   It was affordable, made with all natural ingredients, and best of all, “Made with Love and Prayers”. Ruth was sold!

This fall, they are scheduled to sell the candy at several churches and Christmas Bazaars in the Holyoke area. They have seven venues scheduled every weekend between November 8^th and December 14^th in Westfield, Ludlow, Chicopee, South Hadley, and Holyoke (see list of addresses and times below.) The candy is even selling at the beauty salon that Ruth frequents – she shared it there once, and the clients all loved it so much that the owner decided to start selling it himself!

They never stop giving. At the ages of 79 and 82, long after retirement age, they work tirelessly to build the foundation under their dream.

“We’re fortunate enough that God has left us on this earth for this long,” Ruth adds, “so we want to continue to find ways to serve Him.”

If you’d like to support Harmony House of Western Massachusetts, and you can’t visit one of their fundraisers this Christmas season, please visit their web site www.harmonyhousewma.org or you can call Ruth at 413-534-0704 or Jeanne at 413-592-7889.  They continue to raise funds toward their goal of $800,000. They are looking for Volunteers, Board Members, and Advisory Board members, and anyone who might like to contribute goods for the fund raisers, or property for the home.

Scheduled Venues are listed below, and published on their web site.

The candy is also available at:

Cosmo Cut and Style Beauty Salon, 1890 Memorial Dr.  Chicopee, MA   01020

413-437-0818

 

Nov 8^th 9-3

Elderfair

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish Center

127 Holyoke Rd.

Westfield, MA

 

 

Nov 15-16

St. Elizabeth Parish

121 Hubbard St.

Ludlow, MA

After 4:00 Mass on the 15^th

And on the 16^th after the 7:30, 9:15, 11:00 and 5:00 p.m. Masses

 

Nov 22-23

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish Center

127 Holyoke Rd.

Westfield, MA

After the 4:00 p.m. Mass on the 22^nd

After the 7:00, 8:30, and 11:00 Masses on Sunday the 23^rd

 

Nov 29^th 9-2

Christmas in November Craft Fair

St. Patrick’s Social Center

Main and School St.

South Hadley, MA

 

 

Dec 6 9-3

The Arbors Holiday Craft Fair

929 Memorial Dr.

Chicopee, MA

 

Dec 6-7

Our Lady of the Cross

Sycamore St.

Holyoke, MA

After the 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday

After the 7:30, 9:00 and 10:30 masses on Sunday

 

December 13-14

St. Jerome Parish

Hampden St.

Holyoke, MA

After the 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday

After the 8:00 and 10:30 Masses on Sunday

Trappistine – Supporting Local Businesses since 1956

What does it mean to be socially responsible, and to support local businesses? The Nuns of Mount Saint Mary’s Abbey, makers of the renowned Butter Nut Munch, Chocolates, Bark, and Fudge/Penuche, are a good community to ask.

Their business, Trappistine Quality Candy, while not a large operation, has survived and thrived over the years, mainly for a few good reasons.

First and foremost they produce a quality product, with only high-quality, natural ingredients, in a first-rate production facility for which they raised the funds themselves. And their work ethics are meticulous.

Anyone who has ever bitten up to their Butter Nut Munch can attest to the abundance of hazelnuts. In the factory, each piece of Munch is examined before it goes into the box to make sure it holds the maximum pieces of hazelnuts. If not, back it goes for hand-application of more!

And while competitors are using “artificial” flavoring in their chocolate, and chocolate made from cocoa powder and vegetable oil, Trappistine chocolates are pure, produced from ground cocoa nibs – and you can taste the difference! This means the cost of making their chocolates is higher than their competitors. Still, the sisters wouldn’t dream of producing anything less than a pure, wholly good, natural product for you, their customers.

Second, the sisters are good neighbors, and they support local businesses.

The story of cities like Detroit, MI, speaks volumes about the necessity of supporting local businesses. Having lost 50% of its population with the the loss of manufacturing and auto industry-related jobs, Detroit today finds itself in bankruptcy and with a glut of empty homes that no longer hold any value. There is no market for houses, because there are no jobs. Where there once were thriving neighborhoods, you’ll find overgrown empty lots and boarded up houses.

While many companies worldwide are looking to outsource labor and source their supplies from China and other economies where costs are lower, the sisters strive to choose local vendors.    Their current candy box vendor, Fuller Box, with manufacturing facilities in Central Falls, RI, is a good example.   Having prospered with the Providence jewelry industry, Fuller saw their share of change in business when that industry started manufacturing overseas.   Being a tenacious and quality manufacturer themselves, Fuller retains a healthy jewelry packaging business, yet has diversified with local companies like Trappistine Quality Candy. This in turn helps them support their Central Falls workforce and their families, in turn protecting the health of the local economy.

Third, the sisters’ work is a form of prayer, and they work tirelessly not only to bring you the best quality, but at the best price they can. This is part of the Rule of St. Benedict, by which their lives are governed. They are in business to support their life, not to maximize profits.  They don’t like to raise prices.

While companies like Hershey’s are announcing an 8% increase across the board on their products, due to the rising cost of chocolate (some companies report a 20% increase in the price of chocolate this year), Trappistine is striving to hold firm, and keep increases to a minimum.

Finally, the sisters are committed to green energy, and once again, this commitment benefits their neighbors. Last year, the sisters celebrated the completion of a solar field installation on their property. They determined that this initiative would serve the the Rule of St. Benedict that requires them to be good stewards of their natural resources.

Not only does it make them good stewards, it is helping the Town of Franklin to meet their own clean energy goals.  The solar field supplies the town with a good portion of the electricity needed to power their public buildings.

And if that’s not good enough, the sisters also invested their hard earned pennies in a wind turbine – which offsets the cost of powering the Abbey and feeds the local “grid”.   And they implemented a geothermal system which reduces heating and cooling costs of their candy production facility, further protecting the local environment.

Finally, the sisters support the local poor and the needy, in both times of abundance and in times of need.

So, next time you bite into a piece of Trappistine candy, you can feel exponentially good about it supporting this local business.   Your choice helps support a number of local companies and their employees and families, feeds and clothes the poor locally, and supports green energy.   And, not least of all, it supports a lovely community of hard-working, joy-filled sisters whose life is all about spreading goodness and joy.

As for the flavor of Trappistine Quality Candy- every bite speaks volumes!

We hope you will share it with your clients and loved ones to add joy to Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Holidays throughout the year.

www.trappistinecandy.com

 

 

 

 

Trappistine.  Enduring the test of time.  Pure.  Wholesome.  Unadulterated.  Infused with Love and Prayer.

These words symbolize not only the lives lived by those in our order, but also, our candy. This fruit of our labor, work of our hands, financially sustains our life of prayer, spirituality, and simplicity, and it, too is infused with our love and prayer.  It is part of the Trappistine tradition – one that has endured and thrived since 1098.

That’s why, when we set to re-design our packaging, we selected simply the word “Trappistine” to appear on the label of all of our products.  Pure and simple, “Trappistine” says it all!

We chose the “T” with the vine around it for two reasons:  one, because it is reminiscent of biblical script from the days when monks used to transcribe the bible, using decorative calligraphy for the first letter of the first word of each chapter.

Second, it symbolizes our commitment to preserving natural resources – and respect for our environment.  We host three forms of renewable energy on our land, and live simply, avoiding waste, and recycling and composting.

Most importantly, we realize that our customers often give our candy as a gift, so we wanted to make the packaging and labeling as beautiful as your intention, and ready-to-give.

You will begin to see this new label on all of our products next year, and for this season, we are able to offer it on our new Trappistine Trio combination offering – three flavors of our candy, ready to give, and tied with a bow!

We at Trappistine Quality Candy invite you to share in the fruits of our labor.   It gives us joy to serve you -with Love and Prayers.

The Sisters of Mount Saint Mary’s Abbey

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Our customers have told us that you can TASTE the goodness in our candy.

Made with only pure and natural ingredients, without preservatives, our candy not only tastes good, but its high quality ingredients make it a healthier choice as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If removing chocolate from your diet was part of your New Year’s resolution, then maybe it’s time to break it – for your own good!

Dark Chocolate has often been touted in health magazines as a powerful antioxidant, and also gives you the benefits of improved brain activity and blood flow, and may help reduce blood pressure.

Two of the most surprising findings about dark chocolate are that it helps prevent Type II Diabetes, and tooth decay.  (But not too much sweet/milk chocolate.  It still contains sugar, which is bad for both your teeth and blood sugar levels.)

It’s the flavonols in chocolate that help prevent insulin resistance, which is associated with Type II Diabetes.  Flavenols are also found in vegetables, such as celery, parsley and thyme, and fruits like apricots, apples, and grapes, as well as red wine and tea leaves.

But chocolate has the highest concentration of flavenols of all these foods.

Another study done at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that cacao, the bean from which chocolate is made, is found to be a “defense shield” against strokes, because of its positive impact on the cardiovascular system.  A ten year study showed that subjects who ate the most chocolate were 17% less likely to suffer a stroke.  The study’s researchers attributed this to the anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory properties of chocolate.  It is also possible, they said, that the flavonoids in chocolate may decrease blood concentrations of bad cholesterol and reduce blood pressure.

What’s more, dark chocolate is found to be a mood booster.  Its is purported to increase levels of endorphins (natural opiates) produced by the brain as well as serotonin, a mood-boosting substance also produced by the brain. Increasing serotonin production in the digestive tract may also boost your immune system .

And, the higher the percentage chocolate (the darker the chocolate), the better.   Dark chocolate is made with less sugar, and has a higher concentration of pure chocolate, which contains all the beneficial substances.

But don’t overdo it – the recommended daily intake of dark chocolate is one ounce per day.  So, update that resolution, and add some chocolate to your shopping cart today.

Try our Dark Chocolate Squares, Almond Bark, or a Dark Chocolate rose today. It’s a delicious way to improve your health!