Terri Hoggatt
Class of 2022
Terri Hoggatt was born on December 15, 1962, in Wilmington, OH, to George and Nancy. Growing up, her parents taught her and her siblings respect, integrity, honesty, work ethic and, above all else, love.
Her first experience in retail and confectionery came during high school, when she took a job at the Blanchester Hometown IGA Store in 1978 as a cashier and order-stock clerk for candy and tobacco. In this role, she quickly learned that these categories were connected in the grocery world.
She attended Blanchester High School and went on to receive a degree in business and languages (Spanish and French) from Wilmington College in 1985.
From 1985 to 1992, Terri worked for Cutlery World/Hoffritz for Cutlery as a regional manager and was later promoted to merchandise manager. She says that at the time, she did not know how beneficial this experience would be for building relationships, understanding retail from the ground up and the role of a merchandising team to follow consumer demands and trends.
Steve Hendley, one of her mentors, enticed her to make the move to gourmet confections and food in 1992, working for him at Passport Foods, a division of Hagemeyer N.A., as operations/distribution manager. This is also when she was first introduced to gourmet jelly beans.
In 1997, the opportunity came up to work for chocolate manufacturer Price Candy Co. She says that learning about candy manufacturing and distribution expanded her understanding and appreciation for gourmet confections.
In 2000, she met Gordon and Judy Angles when she accepted a position as a national account manager and purchasing manager at Wythe-Will Distributing LLC. She says they served as friends and mentors, teaching her about “active listening” and that tough business can still be driven by honesty and integrity.
When she started with Jelly Belly Candy Co. in 2007, she jumped into sales full time as regional business manager for the East Coast. In 2020, she was promoted to senior director of specialty sales, the role she currently holds. In total, she has spent 30 years in the industry.
“You are only as good as your weakest team member,” Terri says. Through this motto she strives to mentor, motivate, educate and provide team members as well as customers with the tools they need to be successful.
Terri says the three qualities that have helped her in her career are her patience, dedication and her willingness to learn. She considers herself a quick learner and always tries to maintain a positive attitude no matter the circumstances.
After attending her first NCA Women’s Leadership Group event at the Sweets & Snacks Expo, she has backed and participated with the organization’s goals of providing opportunities to network and learn through others’ experience and knowledge.
She has also been a member of the Sweets & Snacks Expo Committee since 2019.
In her spare time, Terri enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors and making lap quilts by hand. She has 10 nephews and nine great nieces and nephews and hopes to always be remembered as the fun- loving aunt that is always there for family and others.