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We have tasted the future of candy and snacks—and it’s delicious. Sweet and salty, fruity and crunchy and chewy.
For three days this week, more than 1,000 candy and snack makers from all over the world showed off what’s hot and new in the candy world. And we couldn’t resist checking it out.
IBJ sent a writer to the Sweets & Snacks Expo, the business-to-business trade show put on by the National Confectioners Association, and found 10 new treats to keep an eye out for.
Baci Perugina, from Italy, which makes milk, dark and extra dark chocolate truffles, is adding coffee and amaretto flavors. Baci differentiates itself by adding “love notes” inside each wrapper. Ours said, “A true friend is recognized during difficult times.” Kind of fortune-cookie-ish, but good chocolate.
Michigan-based Pop Daddy Snacks is introducing two new flavors of pretzels: birthday cake and Dutch apple pie. Birthday cake is causing a sensation on TikTok; the company boasts that it’s selling 8,000-10,000 units a day. The Dutch apple pie will be out in July.
Papa’s Brittle used to be something Doreen Gardner’s family made and gave away to friends and family in Michigan. Now, peanut brittle is a family business. Soon, the original flavors—classic and cashew—will be joined by sweet heat, sugar free and vegan.
The Missouri-based Freeze Dried Candy Store takes candy favorites such as Skittles and turns them into a candy called Shell Shocks. To quote the company, “We take childhood treats and transform them into something new and different.” Gummies, saltwater taffy and caramel apple pops are some of the other sweets that get their freeze-dried treatment.
Bon Bon boasts that it’s “a nostalgic experience in Sweden that’s new to America.” The company makes Swedish fish in New York City, and soon it will add black salty licorice and a candy bar made with thin layers of crackers and chocolate.
U.K.-based Skinny Food Co. wants you to have a nutritious breakfast in the form of its high-protein, zero-sugar chocolate waffles. “A convenient snack for breakfast as well as on the go,” it says.
Minnesota-based Von Hanson’s Snacks says it makes “the world’s best seasoned pretzels.” Now it’s adding seasoned peanuts and snack mixes (peanuts, pretzels, almonds and bagel chips).
New Jersey-based Nutty Naturals is making low-sugar and no-sugar-added dried fruits in flavors such as chili mango (“soft, juicy, nutritional”) and snacks such as Mexican hot chocolate cashews.
Peaka Pop’s veggie crisps, made in Virginia from chickpeas and lentils, are “better-for-you snacks.” They’re non-GMO, air-fried, healthy-but-tasty chips in flavors that include white cheddar, BBQ and sea salt.
Japanese candymaker Akai Bohshi introduced Nattia, a cookie-like snack that looks like a tiny canoe—it’s a wafer—filled with nuts and caramel and crunchy goodness. It also comes in vanilla almond and maple coconut.
“Kick aspartame!” says Canadian gum and mint maker Pür, which sweetens its products with plant-based xylitol. Pür’s new products are jumbo pieces of gum (think large Chiclets) and mints in tins.•
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