ECRM: DeMet's, Perfetti Van Melle, Imaginings 3 win 2019 Kids Choice Awards

Children from Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada voted for their favorite candies.

Young people from the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada voted Mini Selfie Pops, Flipz Chocolate Covered Pretzels and Airheads Gummies as winners of the 2019 Kids Choice Awards.

ECRM hosted its annual Candy Planning: Christmas & Halloween program Feb. 17-20 at Bally’s in Las Vegas.

For those unfamiliar, ECRM brings together manufacturers and candy buyers for meetings that resemble speed dating, since they have just 10 or 20 minutes at each appointment.

However, no Christmas & Halloween program would be complete without the Kid’s Choice Awards, sponsored by Candy Industry Magazine and ECRM. Participating candy companies submitted products for young people from the Boys & Girls Club from Southern Nevada to sample and judge. The kids cast ballots for their favorite in each of three categories: Chocolate, Non-Chocolate and Novelty.

Candy Industry extends its congratulations to the winners. Check out full coverage of the candy planning program in the April issue.

Best New Chocolate

DeMet’s Candy Co./Star Brands North America

White Plains, N.Y. / flipz.com / (914) 355-9750

Flipz Minis Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Flipz Minis are a sweet and salty, rich and crunchy snack that’s sure to please the youngest — and most discerning — consumers.

S.R.P.: N/A

Best New Non-Chocolate

Perfetti Van Melle, Inc.

Erlanger, Ky. / perfettivanmelle.com / (859) 263-1234

Airheads Gummies

These gummy pieces come in Blue Raspberry, Cherry, Watermelon, Orange, Green Apple and Strawberry flavors. They’re shaped like the signature Airheads balloon, as well as a hat, bow tie, sunglasses and a mustache for interactive and interchangeable flavor combinations.

S.R.P.: N/A

Best New Novelty

Imaginings 3/Flix Candy

Niles, Ill. / flixcandy.com / (847) 647-1370

Mini Selfie Lip Pops

Now in a miniature version, these Lip Pops are perfect for taking selfies. Six pieces in a bag makes them perfect for sharing. Candy lovers can post pictures with the hashtag #lippopselfie.

S.R.P.: $1.99-$2.99

Alyse Thompson has held many positions with BNP Media, first serving as an intern at Candy Industry Magazine in summer 2012. She joined Candy Industry's staff full time as associate editor in August 2016 after a few years at newspapers in West-Central Illinois, becoming managing editor in March 2019. Alyse has also served as managing editor of Cannabis Products Magazine since March 2019. She has bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Spanish from Western Illinois University.