14 New Products Seen at Core-Mark Expo Midwest

From baked goods to flavored sparkling waters to gummies, the Core-Mark Expo had a little bit of everything sold in a convenience store. 

Core-Mark, a Performance Food Group company, hosted its Core-Mark Expo Midwest Thursday in Schaumburg, Illinois. 

Here’s a peek at some of the new items for convenience retailers that were shown on the show floor. 

Core-Mark, Westlake, Texas, offers a full range of products, marketing programs and technology solutions to customers in the United States and Canada. 

Bon Appetit has launched new Danish flavors—Caramel Chocolatier and Caramel Crème. The pastries come in several other flavors including Cheese n Berries, Apple, Blueberry Cream, Vienna Cream and more. 

The company got its start 30 years ago hand delivering fresh pastry in baskets to retailers in the Los Angeles area, according to the company’s website. It also offers coffee cakes, jumbo muffins, sliced cakes, Hispanic pastries, giant cookies, doughnuts and more baked goods.   

Danone North America’s Stok Cold Brew Energy beverages will be available for convenience retailers in later April or early May. The drinks come in 11-ounce cans in three flavors—Caramel Cream, Mocha Cream and Vanilla Cream.

Each have 195 milligrams of caffeine per serving and are made with B vitamins, guarana and ginseng. 

Danone North America’s headquarters are in White Plains, New York, and Louisville, Colorado. 

GR1NDS Energy pouches are launching a new flavor, Sour Apple. The pouches have 80 milligrams of caffeine, and there are 15 pouches per container. The pouches are sugar- and calorie-free, and made with natural caffeine and B vitamins, the company said. 

Users place the colorless pouch between their top lip and gum to experience flavor that lasts for up to one hour, Westfield, Indiana-based GR1NDS said. The energy kicks in in minutes, it said. It comes in other flavors like Sweet Mint, Caramel, Spearmint and Double Mocha. 

Lenny & Larry’s has introduced Fitzels—a combination of the words fitness and pretzels. The protein pretzels have 20 grams of plant-based protein per bag. It comes in Cinnamon Buns, Chili Lime Time, Everything Bagel, Pizza Palooza and Boujie Mustard flavors. 

Lenny & Larry’s, Sherman Oaks, California, also sells other protein products like the Complete Cookie, Complete Cremes, Cookie-Fied Big Bar and more. 

Campbell’s Snacks showed its new Goldfish varieties. Goldfish Crisps are a light and airy version of the Goldfish crackers, and come in Cheddar, Sour Cream & Onion and Salt & Vinegar. 

Campbell’s has also launched Goldfish Frank’s RedHot and the sweet S’mores Grahams. 

Goldfish are under Camden, New Jersey-based Cambell’s Pepperidge Farm brand. 

Barebells has launched a new Peanut Butter protein bar. Its protein bars also come in flavors like Cookies & Caramel, Birthday Cake, Chocolate Dough, Cookies & Cream and Creamy Crisp. 

The bars have 20 grams of protein and no added sugar. 

Barebells Functional Foods, Venice, California, launched in 2016 and offers a range of alternatives to snacks, breakfasts and desserts, according to the company’s website. 

Mondelēz International has launched Sour Patch Kids Strawberry-Watermelon Glow Ups. The candy is layered with edible confetti that emits a fluorescent glow when under a blacklight due to the use of turmeric extract, the company said.

Sour Patch Kids is also launching a Snapchat filter which allows users to see the glow using augmented reality. The candy is available in a 3.08-ounce small peg bag for a suggested retail price of $1.24 and a 6.7-ounce large peg bag for an SRP of $2.98. 

Mondelez, East Hanover, New Jersey, also launched Swedish Fish Mini Strawberry-Watermelon Glow Ups in March with the same glowing experience but in a Swedish Fish format. 

Primo Brands showed its Splash Refresher brand in two flavors. Splash Sparkling Rocket Freeze and Splash Sparkling Blood Orange come in 16-ounce cans. The drinks have zero calories, zero sugar and contain electrolytes. 

Primo Water Corp. and BlueTriton Brands Inc. merged to form Primo Brands Corp., Tampa, Florida, in November. Its other water brands include Saratoga, Pure Life, Poland Springs, Ice Mountain and Zephyrhills. 

In nonchocolate candies, Hershey showed its Jolly Ranger Ropes, which come in Blue Raspberry + Cherry and Watermelon + Green Apple flavors. Each rope is stuffed with flavor from the inner filling to the outer layer, according to Hershey, Pennsylvania-based The Hershey Co. 

Jolly Ranger Ropes come in 6- and 10-ounce bags. 

Ferrara Candy Co., Chicago, has introduced SweeTarts Gummy Halos. The gummies come in a Blue Punch, Strawberries & Cream flavor and feature a combination of an airy, fluffy, gummy bottom layer topped with a pink and blue chewy layer. They are coated in sweet and tart sugar, Ferrara said. 

The candy comes in 3-ounce, 3.5-ounce, 6-ounce and 11-ounce bags, according to Ferrara’s website.

AriZona Beverages has five varieties of fruit snacks. The 5-ounce bags come in Green Tea, Mixed Fruit, Arnold Palmer, Sour Lemonade and Sour Watermelon flavors. 

AriZona Beverages, founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1992, is a family-owned and -operated American company.

General Mills has reintroduced its Watermelon flavor and now sells packs of Watermelon and Sour Apple gummies. It also sells Gushers Super Sour, which has Blueberry Grape, Mixed Berry and Raspberry Lemonade flavors. 

General Mills, Minneapolis, also showed a Gardetto’s Aged Cheddar snack mix and Muddy Buddies Cinnamon Toast Crunch. 

Slice soda is back under Suja Organic. Suja Life acquired the cult classic soda brand in May, and reintroduced the beverage in 2025 with a fresh look and revamped formula, the San Diego-based company said. 

The new Slice sodas are billed as “healthy sodas” and contain prebiotics and probiotics, with 4 to 5 grams of sugar per 12-ounce can. 

Giants is launching its new Big Easy flavor in its sunflower seeds and cashews. The Louisiana-style snacks have a smoky BBQ and vinegar flavor. 

Giants, based in Wahpeton, North Dakota, has been family-owned and operated for nearly two decades.