An almost obituary like article from the Wall Street Journal shows how regional candy brands are disappearing. This is the same fate of brands in many grocery categories as they are squeezed off the shelf by growing national and private label brands. Many of these regional brands are family owned and they have given up the fight as they ride the cash cow down to the sad end. A hopeful sign is in the beer category where many small independent brands are making life miserable for the larger national brands. They do this with youthful enthusiasm, a willingness to take risks and a sincere belief that they just simply make a better product.