Sweets & Snacks Expo preview
The Sweets & Snacks Expo takes place 8-10 May in Chicago, US.
The 2012 Sweets & Snacks Expo, sponsored by the National Confectioners Association, is the largest confectionery, cookie and snack show in the Americas featuring more than 540 companies showcasing confectionery and snack products at one time, in one place. The Expo serves as a one-stop-shop for retailers and wholesalers looking to discover new products and trends in the industry.
“Snack products coupled with confectionery items are the fastest growing powerhouse in the grocery store,” comments Tim Quinn, Expo chairman and VP of Trade Development for Mars Chocolate North America. “During this challenging economy, retailers are looking to the strength and staying power of candy and snacks to stabilise sales and increase profits. In 2011 alone, these categories accounted for 9% of all store sales and experienced a phenomenal 11% increase.”
The number of companies exhibiting who are showcasing snack products is growing. “While we are thrilled with the quick adoption of snacks by our Expo visitors, it is important to remember that confectionery products continue to be a proven sales driver on their own garnering more than $30 billion (€22.8bn) in US retail sales in 2011 alone,” comments NCA president, Larry Graham. “Candy and snacks combined have the buying power of $79bn (€60bn) in US retail sales each year.”
“Most Americans snack up to four times a day and since consumers are shopping and eating in more than dining out, it is vital that retailers offer a wide variety of items and options to customers. The Expo is the best destination for candy and snack professionals to source new and innovative products and keep ahead of the trends,” adds Quinn.
Exhibitors
Brothers All Natural
Come over and try the new flavours of Brothers All Natural fruit crisps. The crisps are freeze dried meaning that customers can received a product that is 100% fat free with no added sugar or preservatives, low in calories, and up to a year shelf life. The crisps are the number one selling freeze dried fruit snack in the US. Stand 2453
Candy Planet
Candy Planet is a division of Monogram International, which produces novelty candy for all ages. Top sellers include: Moonlight Blood Suckers, Sour Grillz and award winning Grillz. Other new novelty candies will be presented at the show. Stand 1302
Els Kitchen
Gluten free snacks from El’s Kitchen are all natural with no preservatives. They contain no trans-fats or hydrogenated oils, and are full of omega-3s and wholegrains. Every production run is sampled and tested to confirm gluten levels do not exceed 5PPM. Two new flavours to the range will be launched at the Expo. Stand 1984
Flamous Brands
Inspired by a passion for health and good food, Flamous produces the gourmet, artisan made line of falafel chips. The product is certified vegan, kosher andUSDA organic. Furthermore, the chips are free of gluten, GMOs, dairy, nuts, trans fat, cholesterol, artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives. Stand 277
Gamer Grub
Designed for snack multi-tasking, Gamer Grub is a line of performance snacks. With a proprietary formulation of essential vitamins and neurotransmitters to support cognitive functions, Gamer Grub is available in a number of flavours, including pizza and BBQ. The product is packaged in convenient ‘Tear N’ Tilt’ snack packs. Gamer Grub will also be launching a national Sweepstakes, Mission: E3 2012, where gamers can enter to win many prizes, including an all expense paid trip to the 2012 E3 Gaming Convention in Los Angeles. The Gamer Grub performance snack line is sold in North America and parts of the EU. Stand 2215
Godiva Chocolatier
Join Godiva Chocolatier chef Thierry Muret in a tasting and interactive demonstration of Godiva’s most popular chocolate offerings. Get a chance to indulge in decadent chocolates and the new chocolate infused vodkas. Muret will take you through tasting notes, techniques and his inspiration behind Godiva’s chocolates and innovative products. Muret is the executive chef at Godiva Chocolatier and member of Godiva’s research and development team discovering new products, ingredients and collections. Truffles, classics, fudge, caramel nouveau, croquant and bark are just a few of his successes that have delighted the world’s chocolate lovers. Stand 400
Grupo Zapata
Grupo Zapata manufacture packaging and promotional items in tin, with the highest quality print. Special at the Sweets & Snacks Expo is Hexachrome. In addition to custom CMYK inks, Hexachrome adds orange and green inks to expand the colour gamut, for better colour reproduction. Stand 487
Inline Plastics
Inline Plastics will be showing grab and go 12oz snack cups, the newest version of the company’s Safe-T-Fresh line of products. These easy open and close snack cups lock in freshness, extend shelf life, and are available with either flat or dome lids. All containers incorporate a tamper resistant locking mechanism and an exclusive patented tear strip hinge that the consumer removes to gain access to the contents of the container. This design eliminates the need for shrink bands or wrap around labels to prevent product tampering, as well as protecting the product better than many types of flexible packaging. The containers are manufactured from 100% recyclable PET, benefiting retailers and processors by providing containers to their customers who desire environmentally responsible packaging. Stand 680
KC Confectionery
KC Confectionery began in 1922 and is the largest manufacturer of sugar confectionery and bubble gum in the Caribbean and at present, currently export to the US, Canada, the Caribbean, the Netherlands Antilles and England. The company produce a largest range of mints, with the best selling item being the ginger mint. KC Confectionery will be launching two new products at the show, the KC Sweet Pan, which is very unique and incorporates the musical steel pan and the Ice Blast chewing gum. Stand 2184
Pez Candy
Pez Candy manufactures and sells Pez candy and dispensers nationwide and in Canada. Over three billion Pez candies are consumed annually in the US. Pez is a novelty candy that is both enjoyable to eat and fun to play with. Dispensers are a hot collectable and part of American pop culture. New character dispensers are introduced regularly to reflect current trends. Show specials include new pull and go cars, a Star Trek gift set, a Barbie lunchbox tin and a Kiss lunchbox tin. Stand 433
Praim Group
New launches from Praim Group at the Sweets & Snacks Expo include the new Anne Taintor branded chocolate bars, available in milk (34% cocoa) and dark (55% cocoa) varieties. The products contain only natural ingredients and are certified kosher. Stand 1383
RM Palmer
RM Palmer produces quality seasonal novelties for Halloween, Christmas, Valentines and Easter. The company produced coins, bars, hollow and solid novelties, bags and bulk. Assorted shapes and flavours are available, including chocolate, peanut butter, fudge, caramel, mint, cookies and creme, double crisp and nut clusters. At the Sweets & Snacks Expo, RM Palmer will be launching new products for Halloween and Christmas 2012 and Valentines and Easter 2013. Stand 2031
Royal Chocolates
Royal Chocolates is an established manufacturer of high quality Belgian chocolates. Belgian chocolate thins – chocolate chips with crispy rice puffs – are available in seven different flavours: milk, caramel, hazelnut, almond, orange, dark and mint. This year, the company is introducing its Belgian chocolate cubes, individually wrapped chocolate cubes that come in four flavours: milk, caramel, hazelnut and dark. Stand 409
Sanders candy
On show will be Sanders new snack line, ‘Gourmet Snacks’. The range consists of two items, snack bars and snack boxes. The snack bar comes in five flavours available in a 3oz milk and dark chocolate solid breakaway design, with inclusions. The snack box comes in four flavours available in 6oz containers. Potato chips, Gretzels (cinnamon GrahamPretzels), dried cherries, and gluten free granola are some of the ingredients used as inclusions. Stand 1584
Silver Crane Company
The Silver Crane Company supply highly decorated tins either empty of filled with cookies, candy or snacks. As well as a large stock range, Silver Crane designs custom tins for companies both large and small. At the Expo, the company will be launching a new range of tins of mints, as well as many new shapes and designs that are designed to wow your customers. Stand 232
Simple Squares
Simple Squares will be exhibiting a range of natural snack bars. All bars are free from wheat, gluten, dairy and soy. Flavours available include: rosemary, sage, cinnamon-clove and coconut. Stand 1683
Suntak-Pharma Manufacturing
Suntak-Pharma Manufacturing produces variety of sugar free compressed mints.There are four main ranges: fresh breath series, dental series, sour fruit series and functional series. The company also has their own brand ‘H4U’ in different appearances and flavours. Stand 2429
Taste of Nature/Shari Candies
Taste of Nature/Shari Candies offers cookied bites in eight different flavours: chocolate chip, cupcake, cinnamon bun, cookies n cream, red velvet, fudge brownie, mint chip & peanut butter. Licensed candies include Care Bears gummi bears and a brand new line of Hello Kitty licensed candies. Check out our new Ginormous Gummi Bear on a stick candy.. Stand 1113
Tinpac
Tinpac specialise in high quality, custom printed tin packaging, offering a comprehensive selection of shapes and sizes, as well as bespoke designs for tin packaging with an edge. Master chocolatiers Lindt & Sprungli understand better than most the importance of packaging. So when this inventive and iconic brand decided to sell chocolate flakes at their chocolate cafes, they enlisted the help of Tinpac. The result, a custom designed tin that launched so successfully in Lindt’s chocolate cafes, it is now available to customers in major retailers and grocery stores across Australia. Tinpac has since developed new packaging for Lindt across multiple product lines, with a focus on seasonal tins. Stand 687
TruSweets
Surf Sweets from TruSweets is a leading brand of natural and organic gummy candies and jelly beans. Surf Sweets are dye free and made with real organic fruit juice and sweeteners. They are fortified with antioxidant vitamin C and produced in a facility free of the ten most common allergens. Vegetarian and vegan items are also available. Stand 568
Walkers Shortbread
Walkers will be exhibiting some new products such as the Scottie Dog Tin which contains scottie dog shortbread cookies. For 2012, with every purchase of their Scottie Dog products ten cents will go to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and their animal welfare initiatives across the country. Walkers Shortbread has promised a guaranteed donation to the ASPCA of $25,000 (€19,000). Walkers has also released a Queen Jubilee tin in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s Anniversary. Stand 2443
