For 2009/2010, NCA predicted the leading product trends include what it called Classic Remix, Super Fruits & Exotic Origins, Red Carpet Chocolate, Sweet Sophistication, Flavor Flash Back, [image-nocss] Super Sour & Flavor-Full and Holiday Hot Spot:
Classic Remix: Tried and true confectionery favorites are taking on new tastes and flavor twists. MARS Snackfood US takes its traditional "melt in your mouth, not in your hands" M&M's Brand Chocolate Candies and goes tropical with limited-edition Coconut M&M's Brand Chocolate Candies. Get a double flavor punch with Wrigley's Skittles Crazy Cores, which feature two Skittles flavors in every piece. Hershey goes to the dark side with new Reese's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. And, Hershey's Kisses Brand Chocolates now come with a chocolate meltaway center in a new offering, Hershey's Kisses Meltaway. Combining sugar-free chocolate candy with granola, Russell Stover Sugar Free Snack Bars are a 100-calorie treat available in Chocolate Delight Granola, Chewy Granola and Peanut Butter Granola. Super Fruits & Exotic Origins: New confections and snacks cross international lines and tantalize taste buds with super fruit essences and exotic influences. Jelly Belly introduces two new super fruit flavors: Barbados Cherry, an emerging super fruit high in Vitamin C, and Acai Berry, an exotic Amazon rainforest fruit, in the new Superfruit Mix, which also includes other super fruits of pomegranate, blueberry and cranberry flavors. The new Chili Mango Jelly Belly jelly beans offer a fusion of heat and sweet. A natural source of fruit and antioxidants and only 100 calories per pack, Nestle Cranberry Raisinets combines dried cranberries with a milk chocolate coating. YummyEarth Organic Candy Drops Anti-OxiFruits presents an organic mix of super fruit flavors including Pomegranate Pucker and TooBerry Blueberry. There is a new island-inspired Tic Tac Melon Mango mixed-flavor package from Ferrero USA Inc. And Snack Better with Sahale Snacks Glazed Nuts Cashews with Pomegranate + Vanilla combines whole roasted cashews with pomegranate and apple, balanced with pure vanilla bean. Also new are Sahale Snacks Glazed Nuts Almond PB&J with Peanuts + Berries; and Almonds with Cranberries, Honey + Sea Salt. Red Carpet Chocolate: An affordable indulgence, chocolate pleases palates and wallets. Now more than ever, chocolate is proving every day can be gourmet with premium products that won't break the bank. Ghirardelli introduces the Luxe Milk collection of premium chocolates. The collection includes Luxe Milk Milk premium chocolate; Luxe Milk Hazelnut with deep-roasted hazelnuts; Luxe Milk Almond with crisp toasted almonds; Luxe Milk Crisp with toasted crisped rice; and Luxe Milk Duet, which combines a layer of light milk chocolate with a layer of bittersweet dark chocolate. In addition, Mars Snackfood US pairs soft and creamy peanut butter, surrounded by silky smooth Dove Chocolate, in Dove Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter Promises. These individually wrapped chocolates include "promise" captions inside each wrapper. A delicate truffle, Landrin Waferatto Gold features a chocolaty hazelnut filling wrapped in a smooth cream, wafer coating and finished with crushed hazelnuts. Sweet Sophistication: Maturing to meet consumer demand for sophisticated sweets, novel treats provide full sensory experiences and unusual flavor pairings to surprise and delight taste buds. DAS Lolli lollipops challenge senses with new flavor pairings: Naughty Ginger is a ginger- and lemon-flavored pop, Caramelini Me Happy is a salty caramel lollipop, Fab-O-Pom blends orange and pomegranate and Man Bait is a unique maple bacon-flavored lollipop. Chuao Chocolatier's new Chinita Nibs ChocoPod delivers an unusual flavor filling of caramelized cocoa nibs and nutmeg inside a dark chocolate shell. And new from Osmanium Candy Co. are Crackheads2 Gourmet Chocolate Coffee Caffeine dark chocolate coated coffee beans. Flavor Flash Back: Finding comfort in "sweet memories," consumers are returning to traditional tastes and packaging reminiscent of their childhood and happy times. This year, old is new again as candy company Just Born Inc. introduces Goldenberg's Original Peanut Chews, Mike & Ike and Hot Tamales in vintage package designs. Tootsie Roll's classic Apple Orchard Caramel Apple Pop are the traditional apple candy pop with smooth caramel coating, now available in Golden Delicious and classic green apple, caramel apple flavors. Welcoming a new member to the family, Hershey's Good 'N Plenty and Good 'N Fruity chewy fruit candy line introduces a new bold cinnamon flavor, Good 'N Fiery. Super Sour & Flavor-Full: Innovative super sour flavors and tangy fillings are a trend. For a long-lasting shock that's sour then sweet, Cadbury's Sour Patch Chillerz is a soft and chewy Sour Patch candy creation that leaves a tingling surge of cool at the end. And Cadbury's new Trident Layers is a chewing gum with a middle flavor layer you can see. Trident Layers delivers a combination of two juicy fruit flavors that blend together for one flavor experience, available in Strawberry+Citrus and Apple+Pineapple. Wonka's Puckerooms Sour Gummy Candy is a chewy new treat from Nestle, made with natural ingredients and 25% real fruit juice. The mushroom-shaped sour gummi candy delivers a tart twist with a combination of squishy and sour. Candy Dynamics' Toxic Waste Hi-Voltage Bubble Gum offers three extra-long cables of gum, each with a sour core and in sour flavors including Amp'd Apple, Surgin' Strawberry and Blackout Blue Razz. The American Licorice Co. offers Chewy Extinguisher Sour Fruit Candy and Chewy Extinguisher Sour Citrus Candy, with three sour layers of flavor and the Sweet Mixed Berry Extinguisher inside. Holiday Hot Spot: New seasonal treats give consumers reason to celebrate. Just Born Inc. presents holiday Marshmallow Reindeer Chocolate Mousse Peeps and Marshmallow Cats Chocolate Mousse Peeps. Trick-or-treat with Dots Halloween Mix, which includes colorful Candy Corn Dots, Blood Orange flavored Bat Dots and Ghost Dots, from Tootsie Roll Industries. For Valentine's Day, Necco has new Sweethearts Conversation Hearts Forbidden Fruits featuring Twilight movie-themed conversation hearts with phrases like "Live 4 Ever" and "Bite Me."
In 2008, 3,345 new confectionery and snack products debuted, according to the NRA, citing Datamonitor: Chocolate: 1,873; Nonchocolate: 1,291; Gum: 181.
And 3,121 new snack, cookie and cracker products debuted: Cookies: 777; Crackers: 228; Potato Chips: 434; Popcorn: 127; Nuts & Seeds: 307; Cereal Bars: 430; Other Snacks (pretzels, puffed snacks, fruit snacks, meat snacks, etc.): 818.
The confectionery industry posted a 3.7% gain for the 52-week period ending April 19, 2009, according to the NRA, citing IRI and NCA data. Candy, chocolate and gum continued to lead the snack category in sales and ranked third in food sales overall.
The following key categories experienced growth in 2008: Chocolate, America's favorite flavor, remained popular in 2008. Everyday gourmet (premium) chocolate sales rose 28% in 2008. This marks the fourth year of double-digit growth for the category. Dark chocolate sales increased 12%. Sugar-free gum led industry growth with a 10% sales increase for the last 52 weeks. Licorice sales grew 7% over the last 52-week period. And Gummies & Chewy (nonchocolate) candy grew 10.7% in the last 52 weeks.
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