ATLANTA -- The candy and snacks categories are reaching the next stage of evolution, with manufacturers developing more sophisticated flavors, packaging and sales opportunities in this latest wave of new products. Some of their innovations include:
- Multi-layered flavors--7-Layer Dip Combos from Mars, Burrito beef jerky from Jack Link’s, Tex-Mex from Marfood and Strawberry Milkshake Skittles from Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., just to name a few--demonstrate manufacturers’ growing ability to recreate complex flavor profiles.
- Stand-up pouches, once considered too high of a ring for the c-store customer, have proven to be a surprise hit in the channel.
- Greek yogurt is coating everything from protein bars to baked sweets, granting a healthful glow to snacks.
- Getting back to the basics with products that offer “natural energy” through whole-food inclusions such as Kellogg’s Bear Naked line, and simple combinations like meat, cheese and nuts, as seen at Kraft.
- “Broadening the consumer base” is the catchphrase for categories like meat snacks that are attempting to stretch beyond their core customer with new proteins--chicken, bacon--and flavors.
- The seasonal occasion is stretching beyond chocolate into nonchocolate, gum and mints, with holidays and weather-based seasons (summer, fall) providing inspiration and prolonging the opportunity for impulse sales.
- Sriracha—that brilliantly red, Vietnamese hot sauce in the green-capped bottle with the rooster—is the flavor of the moment, found in meat snacks, chicken wings, condiments and more.
Below are some of the new snack and candy highlights from the 2013 NACS Show.
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