Candy buyers and vendors gathered in Scottsdale, Ariz., this past fall for the Candy Annual Planning meeting. Dozens of candy companies previewed hundreds of products. The products featured on these pages were among the highlights.
Tic Tac Bold! Apple Sour
Tic Tac Bold! breath-freshening mints now come in an
Apple Sour flavor. Tic Tac Bold Apple Sour ships in a 288-count case of
singles; a 72-count sidekick/floor display shipper is available as well.
Mentos Pocket Bottle Gum
Perfetti Van Melle has expanded its Mentos brands with
the rollout of Mentos Gum in pocket bottles. The new gum is round in shape
and boasts a crispy outer shell; it comes in a 15-piece pocket bottle that
is easy to open, reseal and carry. Available now, Mentos Gum comes in three
flavors: spearmint, red fruit + lime, and peppermint. The suggested retail
price is $1.49. Display vehicles include a 10-count show box, 40-count
counter display and 60-count power wing.
Marshmallow Farms
Detailed, hand-decorated marshmallows themed for all
four seasons and everyday are the latest offering from New Era Brands. The
new Marshmallow Farms treats come in packages of six with a suggested
retail price of 99 cents to $1.29. A 25-cent single marshmallow changemaker
is offered as well. The Marshmallow Farms line debuts with Easter
offerings. Next up are everyday items — Ant Farm and Animal Farm for
the spring timeframe, followed by Sea Animals and Polar Ice for the summer
and back-to-school seasons. The packaging — complete with fun facts
about the featured animals and word search games — adds to the
Marshmallow Farms’ fun.
High School Musical Novelties
Flix Candy gets wholeheartedly into the High School
Musical spirit with a series of new licensed kids’ candy items slated
to hit the market during late winter and early spring. New offerings
include High School Musical Sports Two-Pack Ring Lollipops (suggested
retail price of 99 cents to $1.29), which are shaped like sports balls
— basketball, soccer and baseball — in assorted flavors. Also
available are Mini Backpacks (suggested retail price of $2.99 to $3.49),
which have a backpack clip and are filled with pressed sugar stars and
sports balls. The final High School Musical feature is the Sack Lunch
Gummies Bag (suggested retail price of 99 cents to $1.29), which contains
sour gummies shaped like lunch items — water bottles, sandwiches,
pizzas and so on.
Wall-E Novelty Items
When the new Disney sci-fi comedy “Wall-E”
movie hits theaters in June, Flix Candy will be ready to capitalize on the
candy merchandising opportunity with a series of novelty items, including
Wall-E Mini Push Puppets (suggested retail price of $3.99 to $4.99)
featuring a mini tube of cube-shaped candies topped with a moveable puppet
of Wall-E himself. Also included in the Wall-E line are Rolling Pop Slider
Lollipops (suggested retail price of $1.59 to $1.99), which have either the
Wall-E or Eve characters as removable rolling figures on top of a sliding
sucker. The final Wall-E item featured are Picture Ring Pops (suggested
retail price of 99 cents to $1.29), which have edible pictures of Wall-E
and Eve on two different flavored ring lollipops.
Icicle Pop
This clever lollipop duplicates the look of a Popsicle
frozen treat. And like a Popsicle, it can be broken in half and shared.
What’s more, Icicle Pops are formulated with a cooling agent so the
lollipop delivers a sensation of cold. Strawberry and sour blue raspberry
flavors are offered.
Hiya Fillamints
Available now, new Hiya Fillamints deliver mints in a
form that is both economical and environmentally friendly. A choice of 7 mm
or 13 mm hard candy mints come in a refillable single mint dispenser with a
suggested retail price of 99 cents. Refill bottles of Fillamints will sell
for $1.99. The 7 mm Fillamints refill bottles provides more than seven
dispenser refills; for the 13 mm Fillamints, it is more than five dispenser
refills. Mint flavors include peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon and assorted
sours. Retail counter display packages feature a single flavor and are
available with 12 refillable Fillamints dispensers, six Fillamints refill
bottles, or a combination of 12 dispensers and six refill bottles. Power
wing displays are offered as well.
crEATables
Playing with your food takes on a whole new meaning
with Fascini brand CrEATables Chewy Candy Laces. These flexible, stretchy
fruit-flavored candies can be twisted, tied and braided into jewelry and
lanyards, and then consumed. CrEATables flavors include strawberry, apple,
tutti frutti and blue raspberry. The candy string comes in 1.4-ounce
assorted flavor and all-strawberry bags and 4-ounce bags of all four
flavors. The www.fascini.com Web site offers ideas and instructions for
crafting with CrEATables, as well as kids’ games and activities. The
1.4-ounce bags come packed 24 per display/12 displays in an outer carton
and have a suggested retail price of 79 cents. The 4-ounce bags are packed
12 per shelf-ready display case and have a suggested retail price of $1.19.
Jumbo Trash Candy
“Trash can” plastic containers are filled
with dextrose candy in shapes such as dead fish, banana peels, old boots
and cans. Sour candy flavors are strawberry, lemon, blue raspberry and
green apple. The suggested retail price of a 1.35-ounce can is 99 cents.
Cocoa Pete’s Chocolate Bars
Cocoa Pete’s premium, all-natural chocolate bars
are now available through Pan Pacific Foods, the new owner of the brand.
The chocolate is offered in a two-piece Cocoa Petite and a four-piece bar,
with suggested retail prices of 99 cents and $2.99, respectively. The
two-piece Petites come in a 48-count display tray; the four-piece bar comes
packed in a 10-count sleeve display. Varieties include Berry Berry
Dangerous (real strawberries in dark chocolate), Caramel Knowledge
(caramel, dark chocolate and coffee), Nuts So Serious (hazelnut butter and
pistachio in milk chocolate), and Maltimus Maximus (malt crunchies in milk
chocolate). A variety of display shippers are offered.
Tic Tac Chill
Available mid-year, new Tic Tac Chill mints are
sugar-free (sweetened with Xylitol) and larger than Ferrero’s
signature Tic Tacs. Two flavors are offered: Exotic Cherry and Paradise
Mint. Each .95-ounce package will feature two openings — a
traditional flip-top and a sliding door on the side of the package for
easier access. A pack of Tic Tac Chill mints will have a suggested retail
price of about $1.69. Mixed-flavor shipper options include a 54-count
modular floorstand/sidekick and an 18-count counter unit.
Zip Sours Re-Launch
Morris National is re-launching its Zip Sours tangy
fruit hard candies, packaging them in colorful 1.5-ounce tins. All-natural
flavor varieties include Black Cherry, Apple Cranberry and Orange Splash.
The suggested retail price for a Zip Sours tin is $1.49. The tins come in
six-count display boxes packed 12 per case.
Seasonal Novelty Teeth
The creators of Bubbagum bubblegum candy teeth are
unveiling seasonal versions. The new offerings include Bubba Bunny Teeth
for Easter, Creepy Teeth for Halloween and a Christmas version minus the
two front teeth in keeping with an “All I Want for Christmas Are My
Two Front Teeth” theme. The suggested retail price for each Bubbagum
SKU is from $1.69 to $1.99. The novelty teeth come packed 12 per countertop
display and 72 per tip-out dump floor display shipper.
Ki’Xocolatl
Ki’Xocolatl chocolate bars are artisanal
chocolate bars made using single-source cacao beans harvested in Mexico by
farmers of Mayan heritage. Three varieties are offered: a 72 percent cacao
dark chocolate with red pepper and spices, a 36 percent cacao milk
chocolate with cacao nibs, and a 72 percent dark chocolate. Each 2.9-ounce
bar has a suggested retail price of $7.99.
Gourmet Gums
An intense breath-freshener, Little i’s premium
cold-pressed gum is packed with flavor and made with Xylitol to fight
cavities and plaque. Also available is a new energy gum formulated with
Xylitol, but with the addition of taurine and B vitamins; it’s
designed to deliver energy three times faster than leading energy drinks.
Both types of gum come packaged in either a flip-top tin with a mirror or
an easy-to-open slider pack. Twelve- and 24-count cardboard display
shippers and a 48-count wire rack displays are offered.
Soft Gourmet Licorice
Lucky Country is launching an Australian-style gourmet
soft licorice packaged in brown craft bags to help give it an authentic,
homemade image. Two sizes are offered. A 6-ounce peg bag has a suggested
retail price of $1.99 to $2.49; a 10.6-ounce bag will retail for about
$2.99.
Revved-Up Cinnamon Mentos
The bold flavor of Mentos Cinnamon is getting even
bolder. And Perfetti Van Melle, maker of Mentos, has redesigned the
product’s packaging to let consumers know just that. Package graphics
for Mentos Cinnamon roll candy now depicts red-hot flames so consumers will
be clear on the fact that they’re in for a hotter treat than ever
before.
Big Spool Bubble Gum Tape
Big Spool Bubble Gum Tape delivers six feet of bubble
gum for 99 cents. Blue raspberry, traditional original and watermelon
flavors are offered.
RPS Lollipop & Game
This lollipop/game combo plays off the traditional
kids’ challenge game: Rock, Paper, Scissors. A lollipop comes in a
tube topped with a plastic hand with fingers in either rock, paper or
scissors formation. Lollipop flavors are Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy and Root
Beer. The suggested retail price is 99 cents.
New Shipper
The new display shipper for Pop Rocks chocolate bars
delivers major impact with a small footprint. The shipper holds 72 of the
two-piece, milk chocolate mega bars.
Available now, the shipper is an addition to the Pop
Rocks everyday line.
Bratz Candy Novelties
New licensed Bratz novelty items are designed to
thrill little girls with a passion for fashion. Bratz Glamour Compact
boasts a real compact with a vanity mirror and is filled with mints branded
with the Bratz signature “B” logo. The compact attaches easily
to a backpack, purse, keychain or belt loop. Also under the Bratz banner is
Candy Star Dust. It’s a lollipop that can be dipped into a keepsake
“perfume” container filled with sweet powder. Another new item
is the Bratz Camera Action, complete with rolls of sour apple and sour
strawberry bubblegum. All SKUs are packed eight 12-count displays per case
and have a suggested retail price of $1.99.
Pocket Fruit Mix To-Go Bar
Florida’s Natural Pocket Fruit Mix to Go Bar is
made with organic strawberry and orange fruit nuggets mixed with a dried
fruit medley of pineapple, mango, banana and papaya. The 1.4-ounce
gluten-free bar contains 150 calories and comes packaged in a box with
colorful, high-impact graphics. The suggested retail price is $1.99.
Fassin America Inc.
Fascini Sour SNAGX are bite-size sour candy belts that
feature four flavors in each piece — strawberry, apple, tutti frutti
and blue raspberry. Sour SNAGX come in 1.75-ounce and 4-ounce bags with
suggested retail prices of 79 cents and $1.19 per bag, respectively.
Now and Later Theater Box
Now and Later traditional taffy candies now come in
theater boxes. Each 3.25-ounce box includes a mix of candies in grape,
strawberry, watermelon, apple and cherry flavors. The theater boxes are
packed 12 per case. Also new for the Now and Later brand is the addition of
a chocolate flavor of Now and Later soft taffy.
New Flavor for Pez
Chocolate-flavored Pez candies will be available for
an April 1 ship date. Chocolate is the 13th flavor to be added to the Pez
line-up. The new chocolate-flavored Pez candies will be available in
six-pack candy refills, blister packs of eight and in 14.65-ounce laydown
bags filled with mini rolls.
ChocAdorables
New from Candy Tech is the ChocAdorables line of
molded chocolates in four very “adorable” shapes. Each of the
four shapes features a different filling and is packaged in a box with
cutouts to show off the chocolates. Box sizes range from 6 ounces to 7
ounces. Varieties include Milk Chocolate Caramel Apples, Milk Chocolate
Peanut Butter Teddy Bears, Fudgie Frogs with Mint Chocolate Truffle and
Dark Chocolate Espresso Mocha. Each ChocAdorable variety ships 12 boxes per
case; a 72-unit floorstand display that includes 18 SKUs of each of the
four varieties is offered, as well.
Bonus Gum Set to Make a Splash in the Marketplace
Jay Klein, president of Toronto-based Action Candy
Co., is 27 years old. But sometimes, he admits, he feels older. Like 32 or
so. Maybe it’s because this high-spirited gum brand developer already
has packed a couple of careers into his 20s.
At the age of 21, Klein started his own Toronto-based
ad agency, Drivertise International, a business he still operates. More
recently, he’s embarked on a new challenge: developing a gum product
and bringing it to market. The brand name for the new gum is Bonus — a moniker
conceived to convey the message that it allows the chewer to “get
more from their gum.”
The new sugar-free, blister-pack gum initially was
conceived to tap into growing consumer interest in functional ingredients. Bonus Cranberry packaging touts
the fact that the gum is made with real cranberries. Bonus Green Tea calls out its
“great mint taste” and antioxidant benefits, and Bonus Energy Gum, which the
company says tastes like the leading energy drink, highlights its guarana
and taurine ingredients. To round out the assortment, Action Candy Co. also
is offering Bonus Chill
sugar-free gum in Peppermint and Glacier Ice flavors.
The three functional gums have a suggested retail
price of $1.59. Klein expects the Chill varieties to retail for 99 cents to
$1.09.
Klein formally introduced Bonus gum at the All Candy Expo and followed that with
participation in the ECRM Candy Annual Planning meeting. The response at
both events was even more enthusiastic than anticipated, Klein reports.
Since previewing the gum last fall, he has taken the
opportunity to tweak its positioning a bit. Initially, Klein says, he
expected the Green Tea, Cranberry and Energy gums to be positioned together
under a “functional” banner. He found, however, that it makes
more sense to market the Energy gum separately because it tends to skew
toward a younger target audience, and “energy” has become a
specific subset within the gum category. The Green Tea and Cranberry gums
can be paired for advertising/marketing efforts and at retail because both
may be categorized as good-for-you products.
With his background in advertising, Klein is attuned
to the importance of creating a point of difference for his new brand. All
the gum varieties boast vibrant, high-impact packaging. The company will
support its new gum with a public relations campaign; outdoor, radio and
internet advertising; sampling; and point-of-purchase materials.
Annabelle Candy Co. Eyes New Market Opportunities
Consumers on the West Coast tend to be familiar with
candy bar brands like Rocky Road, Abba-Zaba and Big Hunk from Hayward,
Calif.-based Annabelle Candy Co. Beyond the Rockies, however, distribution
is spottier, even for these brands, the company’s three top sellers.
Now, however, the marketing minds at Annabelle hope
that the growing popularity of theater box packaging will be a vehicle for
Annabelle to move these brands into the national spotlight. Bite-size
versions of all three brands are available. The Abba-Zaba and Big Hunk mini
bars are dubbed “mini morsels” on the packages; they are
snack-size versions of regular Abba-Zaba and Big Hunk bars. With the Rocky
Road brand, the formulation has been jazzed up a bit. The bars are
double-enrobed in chocolate, which accounts for the new product name, Rocky
Road Double Dipped Bits. Each theater box will have a suggested retail
price of $1.29 to $1.49.
Consumers like theater boxes, says David Klabunde,
director of sales & marketing, because they’re both visually
appealing and easy to handle. Research conducted for the National
Confectioners Association has documented the fact that consumers are eager
to simplify the candy-shopping experience, he reports.
“Consumers hate looking for products in the
candy section,” Klabunde observes. “Especially with laydown
bags, consumers were asking for more of a billboard so they could see the
product better, and I think that’s one of the things that theater
boxes have done.”
Retailers are embracing this emerging new candy subset
as well. “I was looking at a major drug chain, and I think they had
21 [theater box] items,” Klabunde says.
A Lot of Candy Bar
In addition to the theater box rollout, Annabelle is
venturing into premium confections territory with the introduction of a
line of generously sized Supreme Bars. The bars’ name emphasizes the
word “Supreme,” but the label includes the Rocky Road brand
banner. Two bars are making their debut in the first quarter —
Supreme Mocha and Supreme Peanut Butter — to be followed later this
year with Supreme Caramel Toffee.
“We’re using our family heritage of Rocky
Road, but we have taken the flavor profiles up,” Klabunde says.
Annabelle’s handmade marshmallow filling, for
which the company is noted, will be a key ingredient in all three bars. For
the 2.5-ounce Supreme Mocha bar, the marshmallow filling is
coffee-flavored; the bar also includes cashews and is doubled-enrobed in
dark chocolate. The Supreme Peanut Butter bar weighs in at nearly 3 ounces
and boasts layers of milk chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow and fresh
roasted peanuts, topped off with a double layer of milk chocolate. The
Supreme Caramel Toffee bar, which is expected to make its debut in the
second quarter, features a layer of dark chocolate, caramel, marshmallow
and almond toffee bits, surrounded by a double layer of dark chocolate. The
new bars will carry a suggested retail price of $1.99 to $2.29.
Annabelle’s new product machine also caters to
the calorie-conscious candy lover this year with the rollout of a
multi-pack of 1-ounce, 100-calorie Skinny Hunk bars. The company unveiled
individual Skinny Hunk bars last year, but opted for the multi-pack to
address heightened consumer and retailer interest in 100-calorie packs.
Skinny Hunk is formulated with honey-sweetened nougat, which makes it a
perfect prospect for lovers of chewy, non-chocolate offerings. The
suggested retail price for the pack of seven bars is about $2.99, Klabunde
reports.
