Novelty candy hasn’t suffered from astounding out-of-stocks like other categories have, so filling empty space with kids’ toy candy has been a success, said Mary Sonatore, marketing manager of Speedy Stop.
It has been such a strong segment with positive in-stock rates and reasonable prices that Speedy Stop, a 24-store chain owned and operated by C.L. Thomas Inc., Victoria, Texas, does not even promote it, she said.
Novelty candy was the candy segment that saw the most growth in convenience-store dollar and unit sales in 2022, up 55.4% and 29.1%, respectively, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm Circana. Brands such as Nerds, Baby Bottle Pop and Kidsmania contributed to the category’s growth. Since its last decline in 2019, the segment has continued to grow in unit sales over the past few years, up 30.7% in 2021 and 5.6% in 2020.
“At the end of the day, nobody cares what the cost is when you’re trying to keep your 7-year-old quiet,” said Jeff Greenwald, east regional sales director of CandyRific LLC, Louisville, Kentucky. “It’s something that a parent, a kid, a grandparent is going to see, connect with and buy without necessarily looking at what the cost is, unless it’s outrageous.”
To display novelty items, Speedy Stop stores have a 3-foot section in addition to the other peg candy, and Sonatore also places it at the checkouts next to gum and mints. She reserves one to two shelves for toy candy.
Novelty distributors are receptive toward bringing new items in, said Sonatore at a session at CSP's Convenience Retailing University in Orlando, Florida. “If I see something at a show and ask if they will get it for us, they’ll do it. Try to have those communications opened.”
CandyRific knows that with changing consumer habits, it needs more sustainable ways than in-and-out shippers to merchandise novelty products. There aren’t many places to fit big novelty candy items, though, so the company is working on finding more permanent display options.
“We have the data, especially now as the category has grown so much, to look at putting a novelty set in,” he said. “Maybe it’s every other checkout or an endcap, and we are testing, as a company, a wrap that we have brought to some key retailers because what we have found is if there is a novelty destination, the sales multiply.”
When a retailer can find space, the category can get better everyday business.
“If you walk by a rack and you see it’s all novelty, it’s not getting lost next to a bunch of count goods that are $2 or $4,” said Greenwald, speaking of single-bar candy items. “It sets it apart; the kids flock to it, parents and grandparents pass it and see things that they might want to buy for their [kid’s] great job on a report card or birthday.”
“Novelty distributors are receptive toward bringing new items in.”
Parents are less hesitant to buy novelty treats because they don’t have as much sugar or candy content as a king-size bar, Sonatore said.
In addition to tame portion sizes, CandyRific has made a conscious effort to appeal to parents with better-for-you options.
“When we launched Baby Shark a few years ago, we partnered with Jelly Belly and used organic jellybeans—not because people are buying it because it’s an organic jellybean—but because it’s an added benefit,” Greenwald said.
One of Sonatore’s recent favorite product lines is from good2grow, an Atlanta-based better-for-you snack and beverage brand that includes toys with its products. The brand offers shelf-stable juice drinks and flavored waters, plus a new snack product—baked oat and wheat crackers in single-serve reclosable packages with reusable lids, featuring collectable licensed tops with characters from Disney, Nickelodeon, Hasbro, Comcast, Universal and more.
“[Kids] like to collect those,” she said. “And moms like those too, especially when it’s the flavored water because there's no sugar in those.”
The category is fueled by trend, and it captures children—but cross-generational media, such as Star Wars, Marvel and Pokemon, also grabs the attention of Gen Z, millennials and Gen X “kid-adults,” Greenwald said. In 2022, CandyRific focused on gifting and collectable toy candy with themes like these while utilizing the same licenses that it sells different versions of for children.
“Nostalgia plays a big factor on our brands where adults fondly remember their childhood experiences with our brand and enjoy recreating them or enjoying them again alongside their own kids,” said Becky Silberfarb, vice president of brand marketing for The Bazooka Cos. Inc., New York. Outside of the nostalgia factor, some Bazooka products have become pop culture icons with adults, such as Ring Pops, which hold a wide consumer age span, she said. Celebrities wear them and Ring Pop proposals are trending on social media, which make the products buzzworthy, she said.
“Consumers are craving more interactive elements,” said Silberfarb. “Of course, they want their tried-and-true favorites and appreciate smaller innovative elements, like new flavors and updated packaging, but we also see a lot of demand for new candy textures and new ways of making their eating experiences their own. Thus, novelty is a great fit to provide that outlet to let consumers go beyond the hand-to-mouth eating experience.”