Sweets & Snacks Expo to Take Place in June, National Candy Month

Candy lovers, did you know that June is National Candy Month? This year, the Sweets & Snacks Expo will be held in June in Indianapolis, Indiana instead of its traditional May date in Chicago. Show owner National Confectioners Association unveiled its most popular summer candy flavors (strawberry, watermelon, and cherry) and candy types (chocolate, gummies, and hard candy). Looking for inspiration on what candy to enjoy this summer? Here’s my take on the most popular summer candy types and flavors based on the products I saw at the 2019 Sweets & Snacks Expo that is open to the trade only.

Strawberry

Pocky Crunchy Strawberry from Ezaki Glico USA Corporation combines a chocolate biscuit stick and strawberry cream with real strawberry bites. Pocky, popular in its native Japan, has even inspired a strawberry Pocky mochi doughnut – Dochi.  The founders of Dochi in Denver were inspired by the classic mochi doughnuts found in Japanese street markets to create a cross between mochi (a Japanese rice dessert) and a traditional American fried doughnut.

SweeTARTS Tangy Strawberry Soft & Chewy Ropes from Ferrara Candy Company offers bendable fun by combining fruity licorice and SweeTARTS into one soft and chewy candy with a tangy strawberry flavored filling.

Watermelon

Watermelon is an iconic summertime fruit as it’s associated with hot dogs, picnics, and family fun. Candy makers use watermelon flavors to tap into childhood nostalgia. HARIBO featured a gorgeous display with watermelons carved by Chef Chanse at the 2019 Sweets & Snacks Expo to promote its new HARIBO Watermelon Gummi Candy. Its three layers of color and flavor are aimed to “send your taste buds on a journey back to summer days spent in the sun”.

Jolly Rancher Misfits 2in1 Gummies from The Hershey Company includes three varieties of dual-flavored gummy candy: blue raspberry + watermelon, strawberry + lemon, and green apple + cherry.

Cherry

Jelly Belly Very Cherry Sugar Free Gum from Ford Gum, Inc. offers the “Jelly Belly flavors you love!” in a gum format. I was excited to try all four varieties – Very Cherry, Berry Blue, Island Punch, and Watermelon – at the 2019 Sweets & Snacks Expo.

Tru Fru Nature’s Cherries from Tru Fru, LLC are hyper-chilled cherries sold in the freezer case that have been picked ripe and frozen fresh in white & dark chocolate. In addition to other frozen fruits including raspberries and strawberries that have been immersed in chocolate, the company also offers shelf-stable fruits (bananas, mangos, raspberries, strawberries) that have been frozen fresh and then freeze-dried before being immersed in dark chocolate.

Chocolate

At the Mars Wrigley booth, I got to see their new M&Ms’ Bars and Snickers Creamy Bars. The M&Ms Bars embed M&Ms Minis into a milk chocolate tablet bar for a multi-sensory taste experience. The five varieties are Peanut, Milk Chocolate, Crispy, Almond, and Crispy Mint. 

The Creamy Snickers line adds a creamy nut butter filling (Almond Butter, Peanut Butter) to the caramel and milk chocolate coating to the Snickers bar.

The Hershey Company showcased their Hershey’s Emoji Bars and Kit Kat Duos at the 2019 show. The Hershey’s Emoji Bars were designed to appeal to parents of Gen Z by serving as a fun ice breaker for children as they head back to school.

The Kit Kat Duos combine Mint + Dark Chocolate Candies for a minty and crispy experience.

Gummies

Sour Patch Kids Heads from Mondelez Global offer 2 flavors in 1 soft & chewy candy that is 2x bigger than original Sour Patch Kids. The 2 in 1 flavor combos are pink lemonade + blue raspberry, pineapple + redberry, and peach + orange.

SMARTSWEETS INC promoted its Kick Sugar, Keep Candy! Message at the show with its stevia leaf extract-sweetened SMARTSWEETS Gummy Bears and Peach Rings that contain only 3g of sugar per 1.8 oz bag. The SMARTSWEETS are also high in fiber, with 28g of dietary fiber from prebiotic soluble fiber from tapioca and chicory root fiber. 

At the 2019 Sweets & Snacks Expo, Fini Sweets, Spain’s #1 candy manufacturer, showcased original Fini Creations Hooplas, Kollisions, Shock Tongues and Sour Tornadoes made for the U.S. market in collaboration with a focus group of Chicago teenagers. Look at the beautiful tribute to Chicago created by American candy artists Jim Victor and Marie using Fini candy at the 2019 expo.

?Hard Candy

I got to meet Smarties Candy Company’s Co-President Liz Dee. Did you know that each classic roll of Smarties is only 25 calories? In case you were curious, the six classic Smarties flavors are White (Orange/Cream), Yellow (Pineapple), Pink (Cherry), Green (Strawberry), Purple (Grape), and Orange (Orange).

Check out my recap of the 2019 Sweets & Snacks Expo where I observed trends in nut butters, keto friendly, flavor duos, superfoods, and low sugar.

Photo credits: Virginia Lee, Tru Fru, Mondelez Global

Virginia Lee is a food, drinks & beauty trends explorer and blogger with over 15 years of market research experience advising global companies and startups on innovation and market entry opportunities. She has presented on food, beverages, beauty & personal care, CBD, health & wellness, and ingredients at CBD Expo, Flavors and Fragrances, Natural Products Expo East, and Cosmoprof Cosmetica Brasil. Connect with Virginia on Twitter and Instagram at @VirginiaALee.