Archive for the ‘Trade Shows’ Category

23 May

4 HOT Summer Candy Trends 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Summer officially kicks off on June 20, and we’re ready to party … with candy (of course)! Fresh from the Sweets & Snacks EXPO in Chicago, our candy buyer, Rita Cummings, shares 4 hot candy trends with serious staying sticking power.


1. Colored Marshmallows


The classic white marshmallows we’ve always sandwiched between two graham crackers and a Hershey’s Bar, now come in a rainbow of colors.

Single-color marshmallows (a.k.a. pure fluff ) are ideal for candy buffets because they look beautiful in a glass apothecary jar and work well with other candies. They’re also fun to roast around a campfire. What 10-year-old (or 40-something) wouldn’t want a blue, pink, green, or yellow S’more?

Shake up things up s’more by swapping out the classic Hershey Bar with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Rolos, Cookies ‘n Cream Bar, or Ghirardelli Squares. Or make Rice Krispie Treats with pink marshmallows and sprinkle on hot pink and green M&M’s. It’s summer. Have fun. Go color crazy!


2. Unique Candy Toppings for Ice Cream


Sure, hot fudge sundaes will always be cool, but a DIY ice cream sundae bar with unique toppings like Mini Gummy Bears, Petite Pastel Nonpareils, Penguin Gummies,  Mini Sugared Cupcake Gummies, Single-Color Sixlets and Pearls  … that’s hot!


3. Cherry-Flavored Candy


If you’re a cherry lover, this could be your best summer ever. Candy & Snack TODAY magazine’s May/June 2012 story, Capitalizing on Cherry Candy, details continued consumer interest in cherry-flavored candy. In the story, Jelly Belly’s John Pola, vice president of specialty sales, sums it best, “People are attracted to red. It doesn’t matter what mix you have; the reds always go first, and in many instances that red is cherry.” Amen.


4. Still Sizzling: Salt Water Taffy

Salt Water TaffyBased on soaring Salt Water Taffy sales at Candy.com and its use in candy buffets, this is one candy category that’s going to have another great summer. And, it’s not just Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry taffy getting all the attention. Exotic flavors like Huckleberry, Pomegranate, and Oranges & Creme are winning at checkout with event planners, brides, and traditional consumers planning warm-weather parties. Salt Water Taffy is one of those candies that transcends age, comes in a bazillion colors and flavors, holds up in warm weather, and isn’t expensive. For party planners, this is what dreams are made of.

p.s. - Today, May 23, is National Taffy Day! Let the chew fest begin …


 


DeliciousStumbleUponFacebookTwitterShare
Read more

Taste

Aroma

Appearance

Price


Overall Impression:

in Candy, Marshmallow, Taffy, Trade Shows, Trends

18 May

Candy Never Goes Out of Style 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Have you ever known someone for a while, and later discovered one of their secret talents? Like, learning that a coworker sews amazing mens’ suits at night, or finding out that your retired neighbor happens to be a pool shark and travels to Vegas to compete. I love when this kind of stuff unfolds.

Last week at the Sweets & Snacks EXPO in Chicago, I came across a “Candy Never Goes Out of Style” exhibit. It was a display of couture dresses, jewelry, high-heeled pumps, and a Louis XVI chair all made out of candy wrappers and individual pieces of candy.

Exhibit A:


Turns out the dresses and accessories were created by Terese McDonald, owner of Candyality candy shops in Chicago, along with several of her staff members, siblings, and sister-in-law. The Louis XVI “sweet seat” was made by Beth Kimmerle, candy historian and author. Both Terese and Beth are friends of Candy.com, and neither came clean with their hidden talents until last week.

Terese says the “Skittles Riddles” dress (above) took her employee, Ashley Reinsmith, about 15 hours to make. (Skittles Riddles got lots of buzz at the Sweets & Snacks EXPO, winning the NCA’s Most Innovative New Product Award in the non-chocolate category.)

The matching Skittles Riddles high heels scream “Katy Perry!” …


Exhibit B:

According to Terese, the Jelly Belly Wedding Dress took the most amount of time to design and bring to life … about 50 hours. (That may have topped the time it took Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen to create Kate Middleton’s wedding dress!) The bodice and boning accents were made with Vanilla Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Terese says two of her team members worked diligently on the Jelly Belly dress in the middle of her new Water Tower Chicago store location, while customers watched the progress.


Exhibit C:

The vibrant Wm. Wrigley Jr. 5 Gum Dress was made by Terese’s sister-in-law. Terese comes from a family of seven children and says all of her siblings and her sister-in-law have creative and artistic backgrounds. The talent pool runs deep! Terese says she and two of her sisters caught the fashion design bug two years ago when they collaborated on their first candy wrapper dress.

“We constantly study all of the current fashion trends and fashionable people, and make an inspiration board to get us going. Each dress is different as it expresses the vision of the artist,” says Terese.


Exhibit D:

Inspiration by J.Lo? This M&M’s Dress features a boho chic hat and rows and rows of wrappers cut like petals.


Exhibit E:


The summery tangerine dress made with Goetze’s Classic Vanilla Cow Tale wrappers took Terese and her crew about 36 hours to craft. The neckline features unwrapped Goetze’s Caramel Creams. (Yum!)

When asked about what happens with all the candy that gets unwrapped, Terese says, “Most companies donate the wrappers for our dresses, but from time to time, we do end up with vats of unwrapped candy. We recycle that candy because we do so many art projects in our stores. We don’t like to throw anything away.”


Exhibit F:

Beth Kimmerle’s antique Louis XVI chair was covered in retro candies like Tootsie Rolls, red licorice wheels, candy dots, Necco Wafers, and Pez. It was, by far, the sweetest seat in the house.

To learn more about the dresses and accessories that debuted on the Sweets & Snacks Expo runway, as well as Candyality’s upcoming candy fashion events, click here.

DeliciousStumbleUponFacebookTwitterShare
Read more

Taste

Aroma

Appearance

Price


Overall Impression:

in Candy, Candy Crafts, Goetze’s Candy Company, Inc., Jelly Belly Candy Company, M&M's, Mars, New England Confectionery Company (Necco), Nostalgic/Retro, Skittles, Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc., Trade Shows, Wrigley

7 May

Sugar Rush! Sweets & Snacks Expo Hits Chicago 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Sweets and Snacks Expo

 

Ready, set, go!

It’s off to opening day of the National Confectioners Association‘s annual Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago. This 3-day sugarlicious industry event is candy heaven. Rows and rows of candy manufacturers display their latest confections to hungry retail buyers from all over the world.

We’ve already got a “hot list” of new products we know we want to to see (and sample!) top o’ the morning, including …

Baby Blue and Pink Gummy Bears
Not sure what’s cooler. The colors or the flavors of these gummy bears. Albanese Confectionery Company‘s translucent Baby Blue Blueberry and Baby Pink Grapefruit Gummy Bears have huge potential for baby showers and weddings. I’m quite sure they’ll live up to expectations.

Sweethearts Marshmallows
Heart-shaped Marshmallow Sweethearts® are headed to love birds everywhere this Valentine’s Day. Just like classic Sweethearts® (Sweethearts is a registered trademark of New England Confectionery Company), the new fluffy, puffy marshmallow hearts will feature sweet nothings like “Hug me,” “Smile,” and “Be Mine.” Manufactured by the Spangler Candy Company, the hearts will come in sweet little 1.6-ounce pink boxes and an assortment of flavors (Strawberry, Grape, Green Apple, and Blue Raspberry). Think of the possibilities for dressing up cupcakes, cookies, cake pops, Rice Krispie Treats, S’mores, ice cream, hot cocoa … oh my!

Astro Pops
Two years after acquiring the retired Astro Pop brand from the Spangler Candy Company, Leaf Brands, LLC is bringing the classic Cherry, Passion Fruit, and Pineapple-flavored rocket pops back to life in two sizes: original 1 oz. for mass merchants, and 1.5 oz. for smaller retailers. To ensure that the 2012 Astro Pop was made exactly the way everyone remembered it—down to the wax and clear wrapper—Leaf Brands enlisted the help of its Facebook friends. Based on product photos, it looks spot on.

In other Leaf Brands news, the company now owns the rights to Bonkers and Wacky Wafers, so be on the lookout for those two classic comebacks in 2013.

 

Justin’s All-Natural Candy Bars
According to Justin’s press info, the company’s new All-natural Candy Bar line (including Milk Chocolate Peanut, Dark Chocolate Peanut, and Milk Chocolate Almond) contains “25% less sugar, 50% more protein, and 100% more fiber than the leading conventional candy bar, Snickers®.” Beyond that, Justin’s “uses only all-natural and organic ingredients, has no hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives or trans fats, and is also gluten free.”

Um, that’s a mouthful. How can you not be curious enough to give these a road test?

 

DOVE Cookies and Crème Bars and Promises
Coming September 2012: DOVE® Silky Smooth Cookies & Crème Bars and Promises from Mars Chocolate North America. It’s sweet and creamy white chocolate and crunch chocolate cookie bits under the DOVE umbrella. Enough said.

 

Wild Ophelia Candy Bars
Katrina Markoff, the brainchild behind Vosges Haut-Chocolat, has a new venture, Wild Ophelia: Taking an American Road Trip Through Chocolate. Her latest line of exotic dark and milk chocolate bars are smaller than traditional Vosges bars (2 oz. vs. 3 oz.), and less expensive ($4.50-ish vs. $7.50-ish).

Wild Ophelia exhibited at last year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo, but with only five bars. This year, the brand has blossomed into nine bars, including Peanut Butter & Banana, Salted Chowchilla Almond, Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chips, Sweet & Crispy Caramel Corn, Beef Jerky, Southern Hibiscus Peach, New Orleans Chili, Mount Sequoia Granola, and  Sweet Cherry Pecan. BBQ potato chips blended with dark chocolate sounds both disgusting and inviting. Must try!

 

Blue Raspberry and Wild Cherry Bonomo Turkish Taffy
The Warrell Corporation brought Bonomo Turkish Taffy out of retirement two years ago. This year, Warrell is expanding its nostalgic and incredibly chewy (the last time I sampled Bonomo Turkish Taffy, I lost a filling) taffy line with two new flavors: Blue Raspberry and Wild Cherry. Given the popularity of Cherry and Blue Raspberry Airheads, these flavors are a pretty safe bet.

 

Tic Tac Cinnamon Spice
Because I am one of the few humans on the planet who likes “Close-Up Cinnamon Red Gel Toothpaste,” I have a hunch, I’ll like Ferrero U.S.A.‘s new Cinnamon Spice Tic Tacs with “sweet, warm flavor.” They’ve got great color for the holidays and each tiny piece is less than 2 calories. Hello stocking stuffer.

If you’re on the Sweets & Snacks show floor today, let us know. We’d love to meet you!

DeliciousStumbleUponFacebookTwitterShare
Read more

Taste

Aroma

Appearance

Price


Overall Impression:

in Albanese, Astro Pop, Astro Pops, Bonomo, Candy, Chocolate, Classic Caramel, Ferrero, Gummy, Justin's, Leaf Confectionery Company, Marshmallow, Mints and Breath Fresheners, Product Reviews, Spangler Candy Co., Taffy, Trade Shows, Trends, Vosges, Wild Ophelia's

31 May

It’s a Wrap! Final “Must-Share” Candies from 2011 Sweets & Snacks EXPO 0

Posted by Sue Gillerlain | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Now that the 2011 Sweets & Snacks EXPO has come in for a landing, and I’ve had a chance to sift through my notes scribbles, candy samples, and manufacturer marketing materials, I have a few more confectionery wunderkinds that need to be shared.

Anne Taintor and Knock Knock Chocolate Bars
The PRAIM Group
Paul Pruett, founder of the PRAIM Group, is known for producing clever chocolate bar products (Bloomsberry USA, Bubble Chocolate, and Bosco).  His latest venture is the creation and distribution of 3.5-ounce all-natural milk and dark chocolate bars for the individual brands Anne Taintor, Inc. and Knock Knock.

I’ve been a fan of Anne Taintor’s vintage/irreverent accessories for a number of years and I came to know Knock Knock stationery and accessories a few months ago while holiday shopping. I fell in love with Knock Knock’s “WTF” self-inking stamp and post-it notes.

Here’s a peek at both brands’ designs, now appearing on chocolate bar wrappers (you might recognize the artwork):

My favorite chocolate bar in the lineup is the “99 Ways to Survive the Holidays.” I may gift a few of these to myself this holiday season and follow suggestion No. 69, “Up the dosage.”

According to Amy Goldsmith, a spokesperson for the PRAIM Group, the bars are shipping to retail stores as of today, so look for them on Candy.com shortly.

Dippin’ Ice Cream Candy and Flix Mix
Imaginings 3, Inc. (Flix Candy brand)
When I stepped into the Imaginings 3/Flix Candy booth and saw signage for the company’s new Dippin’ Ice Cream Candy, I was skeptical. My kids have tapped my wallet multiple times for the expensive Dippin’ Dots ice cream pellets at baseball games, so seeing the brand in a candy format didn’t make me jump for joy. Plus, if I was going to pick an ice cream brand to morph into a candy, I’d lean toward Ben & Jerry’s.

Even so, I plunged ahead with a sample of the Cookies ‘n Cream Dippin’ Ice Cream candy (it’s also available in Banana Split). The product, which is made in the USA and available in a 2.6-ounce theater box and 1.6-ounce pouch, is a blend of tiny cookie bits and equally tiny cream bits—think Oreo cookie and its creamy white middle cut into teeny-tiny round dots. The Banana Split variety is blend of chocolate, banana, strawberry, and vanilla cream bits.

Bottom line, the Cookies ‘n Cream Dippin’ Ice Cream candy was quite a bit better than I expected. The cookie bits had a surprisingly good crunch and the creamy bits weren’t sticky or too stiff. I would sneak them into the movies.

Also sneak-in worthy is Flix Candy’s Flix Mix, a combination of crisp rice cereal coated with real milk chocolate and peanut butter, then dusted with powdered sugar. Flix Mix tastes remarkably like the no-bake Chex Muddy Buddies (also known as “Puppy Chow”) that infiltrates most offices and cookbooks during the holidays. If you are a sweet cereal mixer, you won’t be disappointed.

Flix Mix is available in a 2.2-ounce theater box and 4.5-ounce peg bag.

Shimmer Gumballs
SweetWorks (Oak Leaf Brand)
SweetWorks‘ new Shimmer Gumballs were one of the prettiest candies at last week’s Sweets & Snacks EXPO.

Julie Davidson, the company’s eastern regional sales manager, created a beautiful candy buffet table in the middle of the SweetWorks booth that showed off the pearly round gems (see pics below).

I could see these shimmering gumballs strung into garland or necklaces for parties … or displayed in apothecary jars at Tiffany’s. They are that glam.



SweetWorks’  Shimmer Gumballs are available in bulk in lime green (my favorite!), bright pink, lavender, powder blue, yellow, orange, and white. Starting in July, the gumballs will also be available in 8-ounce bags as part of SweetWorks’ new Celebration line.

The single-color Shimmer Gumball colors match SweetWorks’ line of single-color Pearl Sixlets. (See “Sixlets” jar in photo above.) Custom colors are available upon request.

Dorval Premium Collection Chocolate Sticks
Dorval Trading Co., Ltd.
Dorval Trading Co. now has its own line of all-natural chocolate sticks, which replaces the importing company’s Rademaker chocolate sticks from Holland. The new Dorval Premium Collection Chocolate Sticks are made with real chocolate and are packaged in 2.64-ounce boxes fit for gifting.

Of the four varieties in this line (Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Mint Dark Chocolate, and Caramel Milk Chocolate), the Caramel Milk Chocolate sticks are the most interesting. They  aren’t filled with caramel, but rather the flavor is infused in the chocolate.

Normally, I’m not into flavor infusions when it comes to chocolate—give me the straight dope—but the caramel flavoring in these solid sticks isn’t overpowering or cloying. The chocolate is good quality, and reminds me of Guittard’s smooth milk chocolate. Perhaps it is.

The Dorval Premium Collection Chocolate Sticks are scheduled to ship July/August 2011.

DeliciousStumbleUponFacebookTwitterShare
Read more

Taste

Aroma

Appearance

Price


Overall Impression:

in Bloomsberry & Co., Bosco, Bubble Chocolate, Candy, Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Dippin' Ice Cream Candy, Dorval Trading Co., Ltd., Flix Mix, Gum/Bubble Gum, Imaginings 3/Flix Candy, Licensed, Milk Chocolate, Natural, Novelty, Product Reviews, Reviews, SweetWorks, Inc., Theater, Trade Shows, Trends