Easter is fast approaching, and Malley's Chocolates president Megan Gillum says the entire staff is working to ensure all the "bunnies and eggs are in a row" for the holiday rush.

Despite Easter being the chocolatier’s busiest season, Gillum says the holiday is more than just selling chocolate—it's about creating lasting memories. 

Creating memories
"Many people celebrate Easter, whether religious or not, but just the fun aspect of coming in [during Easter season], you literally feel like a kid in a candy store,” she explains. “You come in, you can fill your own basket filled with colorful eggs, cute bunnies, and all the gummies. It's just a fun memory and moment that can be created in our stores."
Malley's Pink, Green, and White Gummi BearsGillum says many customers personalize their purchases to make those Easter baskets extra special. 

"It's the memories, it's the moments—it's the ‘what's your favorite thing’ and how can I celebrate you as I'm creating your Easter basket,” she says. “There's so much to it, and it's a time where I think Malley's can really shine, too, in partnering with families in those memories that they're creating."

The stars of the showcase: Eggs and bunnies
Malley's signature luscious eggs—available in 13 flavors—continues to be the centerpiece of Malley’s Easter offerings.

"There's a caramel peanut, which is really popular and gaining in popularity—I think it's way better than any Snickers bar you'll ever have,” Gillum says. “It's filled with that gooey caramel and then the crunchy nut and robed in our decadent milk chocolate.”

The 1.25-ounce eggs come in colorful foil wrapping. Gillum says their customers seem to have personal favorite flavors, although many others struggle to find a least-favorite flavor. 

"The peanut butter, caramel, and raspberry are always the top three,” she explains. “But then you've got the people who love the coconut, and then the people who love the mint, and people who love the cherry.

“Everybody kind of likes their own thing,” Gillum laughs, “people travel from afar to come get them, and they pay attention to when they come on sale."

Malley's extensive collection of chocolate bunnies ranges from 1.5 ounces up to 10 ounces—with options that include solid chocolate, peanut butter-filled top hat bunnies, and even motorcycle-riding rabbits. No matter what your preference, Malley’s offers milk, dark, and white chocolate varieties, as well as sugar-free options.

"We also have a sugar-free bunny, and a box of sugar free chocolates,” Gillum says, returning to the personalization emphasis. “If you're making something for someone, you want to make sure they feel special this time of year too," she says.

Filling the jellybean gap
Despite the Easter candy fun, Gillum says the candy store has seen some supply challenges this year, particularly with jelly beans.

Malley's Dark Chocolate Coconut Egg."It is a bit short with our supplier—not a shortage across the board, but we weren't able to source as many as we [usually do,]” she explains. “We're pretty particular about our jelly beans, so we tried some other options, but they just weren't the quality that the Malley's customers are used to. So we said, ‘We're going to operate under that shortage—versus trying to secure something else and have customers be disappointed."

To compensate for the shortage, Malley's has introduced three new gummy options this Easter season.

Malley's 10-ounce Chocolate Rabbit."We have a Malley's mix of gummi bears, which are pink and dark pink and white and green, so that's kind of fun,” Gillum explains. “With our pink and green colors, we had Sour Chicks, and they've already sold out, so then we replaced them with sour gummi poppers—super fun and colorful [options] that are just great ways to add to the Easter basket.”

With Easter falling early this year and coinciding with the Cleveland Guardians’ home opener on Good Friday, April 3, Gillum says she expects particularly busy—but fun—days ahead this week.

"We're hoping that people will come fill their Easter baskets in the morning [on Friday] because there's Playhouse Square happenings, there's the home opener, and there is a Monsters game—all of those things are all happening the same night,” Gillum notes. “So it's going to be wild."

“There's literally something for everyone during the Easter holiday season, which we love."