Crackheads and Osmanium Press

by John on December 10th, 2008 at 10:41 AM  0 Comments

October 16th, 2008 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Big dreams from beans"

May 2008, The Pioneer Press

May 23rd, 2008 The Onion, "All Candy Expo 2008: Like kids in some kind of a store"

May 19th, 2008 Minutes to Millions Segment on CNBC's Donnie Deutsch's, "The Big Idea" with Kevin Nealon

2 gave it a yes! Website poll loved it!

2008 M Magazine

Review Energydrinkreview.com Crackheads Product Review

February 13th, 2008 Wall St. Journal Article, "Stimulus Plan: Pack it Full of Caffeine"

November 12th, 2007 Medical College of Wisconsin, Spotlight on Science series, "From Idea Conception to Market: How Crackheads���® Candy Grew in Wisconsin""

March 21st, 2007 OnMilwaukee.com, "Crackheads spell success for local entrepreneur"

April 30th, 2007 Chemical Engineering News, "All About Vices"

2007 Shepard Express

2007 Confectioner

2007 Distribution Channels

Posted in Press

NEW! Crackheads / Jitterbeans Vending Program

by John on December 10th, 2008 at 10:40 AM  0 Comments

Interested in making some extra $$?

We are proud to have partnered with Renegade Energy Group to create and sell our new Crackheads2® / Jitterbeans®(so you can go into the conservative stores) product through bulk vending machines. The program launched in October of 2008 and has a tremendous response!

Want to get involved with Crackheads2®? The vending business is an excellent way to make some extra side cash for your endeavors. Check out some of these fancy industry facts:

No other product offers gourmet ingredients, excellent taste, and the equivalent caffeine from 1.5 cups of coffee for $0.50!

Why is this such a tremendous opportunity?

Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day making the United States the LEADING CONSUMER of coffee in the world. (1)

Vending confections in candy is a $1.2 Billion dollar market. (2)

Analysts see business of candy as 'recession-proof'. (3)

Dark Chocolate sales accelerating by 50%+ in 2007, trend to continue. (4)

Chocolate is the largest selling confection category. (5)

The energy drink market became a $5.4 billion dollar market in 2007, and both Goldman Sachs and Mintel predict that it will hit $10 billion by 2010. (6)

Caffeine is the world's most popular mood-altering drug, eclipsing nicotine and alcohol. (7)

Key Features

Virtually no competition, this is a 1 of a kind product

Cost effective for the consumer. $0.50 for a cup and half of gourmet coffee is unheard of!

Approximately 155mg of Caffeine per vend! That is the same Caffeine content in 2 Red Bull® energy drinks or 1.5 cups of coffee!

2 names offered to accommodate any location(Crackheads2® and Jitterbeans™

1 Full empty provides a Net Profit of approximately $150.00 per machine.

$0.35 profit per $0.50 vend

Gourmet Caffeinated Product with the highest caffeine content on the market

Excellent taste without all the additives or problems from liquid energy drinks

No franchising fees

Machines are guaranteed for life

For More Details Call Renegade Energy Group at (866)774-2074 or visit www.RenegadeEnergyGroup.com

References

(1)The National Coffee Association and The Specialty Coffee Association of America
(2) National Confectioners Association
(3)The San Diego Union-Tribune June 30th, 2008
(4)National Confectioners Association
(5)National Confectioners Association 2007
(6)Mintel Energy Drink Report 2006
(7)Jan/Feb 2006 Candy Business

Posted in News, Press

Journal Sentinel Newspaper Article on Osmanium October 16th, 2008

by John on October 17th, 2008 at 10:56 AM  0 Comments

Here is an article on Osmanium that appeared in the October 16th, 2008 newspaper.

View Article Here

Big dreams from beans By KRISTINE HANSEN Special to the Journal Sentinel Posted: Oct. 16, 2008

Who he is:

John Osmanski

What he does:

Owns Osmanium, which makes chocolate-covered espresso beans

John Osmanski's boutique candy empire got its first jolt during an all-night video game session at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, before he was even a student there.

"I essentially made a big pancake of chocolate and coffee," he said.

Osmanski, 27, is the founder and owner of Osmanium, a Milwaukee company that produces chocolate-covered espresso beans under the names Jitter Beans, Crackheads and Crackheads2.

He still loves to snack on the chocolates, which are sold in 1.3-ounce boxes at local stores, including Outpost Natural Foods Co-op, Beans & Barley and Koppa's Farwell Foods.

"If you don't love it, what's the purpose?" he said.

Who he is: John Osmanski

What he does: Owns Osmanium, which makes chocolate-covered espresso beans

Advertisement

Crackheads is what Osmanski and his MSOE classmates - he graduated in 2006, with a degree in biomedical engineering - called people who tried to function without a morning cup of coffee.

One box of Crackheads2 / Jitterbeans chocolate-covered espresso beans, he says, is equal to the caffeine in six cups of coffee, 7 1/2 energy drinks or 11 cans of cola.

Since starting his company in 2004, Osmanski has expanded it from a handcrafted operation to a large-scale company.

While he used to make the chocolates on a double-boiler in his kitchen ("just to see if anyone would like them") and print the boxes at a local Kinko's, today he employs a team in Madison to assemble the boxes, and the chocolates are made at a plant elsewhere in the Midwest.

In September, Osmanski signed a deal with another company to make and sell customized vending machines (dispensing a handful of his chocolates for 50 cents) to universities, hospitals, stores and other businesses.

So far, the venture has sold a couple hundred of the machines.

"I don't know if this would happen if I were in, say, Texas," Osmanski said. "I like this city a lot. The traditional way of business does apply, but there's so many other methods. You can use your friends and family as a test market, for instance."

It's all a far cry from his first business, a skateboard shop in Wales that he sold after a year to concentrate on college.

"Everything is happening all at once," he said.

Posted in Press