‘Permissible Indulgence’ Rules At Annual Sweets & Snacks Expo

Industry leaders Mars Wrigley, Hershey and Ferrero – along with upstarts – are making strides in delivering better-for-you comfort snacks.

The Annual Sweets & Snacks Expo held at McCormick Place in Chicago last month attracted more than 18,000 attendees from industry, retailers and suppliers. Space equivalent to over eight football fields hosted lavish displays of candy and snacks made by both large companies like Mars Wrigley, Hershey and Ferrero and smaller upstarts hawking innovative delights. But beyond these tasty treats, more and more companies are offering items that satisfy consumer demand for great taste while delivering on the trend towards better-for-you versions. That is, they’re quietly shrinking portions and tweaking formulations for consumers who are less motivated to change…a process I call “stealth health.” These trends must accelerate, not only in the candy and snacks categories but also in other sectors of the food industry.

Judging from the exhibits at the Expo, the good news is that many in the industry are recognizing that consumers want their favorite indulgences in smaller doses, with less sugar or in environmentally-friendlier versions. “Permissable indulgence” seemed to rule the day – a healthy ethos that recognizes that people don’t want to eliminate their indulgences but want to enjoy them in guilt-free doses.

As expected there were new products and some interesting mash-ups of old standbys. You could sample Twix cookie dough bars, S’Mores snacks, Reese’s popcorn, Peeps flavored with Dr. Pepper, Nutella-filled wafers, Lucky Charms cookies, and a Cinnamon roll snack by Kellogg’s
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and Cinnabon, to name just a few. These new products are indulgent options and they illustrate that food companies are capable of knowing what we love and giving it to us in novel combinations.

Encouragingly, more and more companies are offering items that satisfy consumer demand for great taste in healthier versions. I observed several new entries with low, no or reduced sugar, to appeal to the 72% of consumers who say they are trying to avoid or reduce their sugar intake, according to the International Food Information Council (IFIC).

Lily’s Peach Rings Candy has fewer than 60 calories a package and less than 1 gram of sugar. The Discovery bar from Blommer (the largest fully-integrated chocolate and cocoa manufacturer in North America) is sweetened with Incredo® sugar to deliver great taste with a 35% reduction in sugar. Other products in the reduced-sugar category included dark chocolate coconut cups, along with dark milk chocolate toffee, almond and sea salt snacks.

A big effort was made to promote these products’ exciting taste, a shrewd move to lure in consumers who may be suspicious of anything called “healthy.” Chocxo bills itself as “Truly indulgent. Lower sugar. Always organic.” Quevos protein chips, made from egg whites, declared that it was “boldly delicious, shockingly healthy.”

On the environmental front, Reese’s plant-based peanut butter cups touted its sustainability, while alter eco incorporated compostable wrappers and Airly crackers shouted out “Taste positive. Carbon negative.”

Those products are sure to appeal to people who are more conscious about healthy, environmentally sensitive eating. But for those less concerned, we saw continued commitment to delivering these goodies in smaller sizes, a hallmark of the “Always a Treat” commitment by the confectionary industry to deliver candy in portions with less than 200 calories. Candy has been shown to be far from the biggest offender in our battle to control our calories. It’s always been considered a treat, enjoyed in smaller portions, and the “Always a Treat” initiative helps make it easier for consumers to understand those permissible portions, which is a good thing. I’d like more sectors of the food industry embrace this trend.

Here are some other kinds of things I’d like to see, especially in the baked goods and restaurant categories of the food industry, both of which have lagged in developing healthier options and menu items:

• Unleash your covens of product developers. Expo illustrated that truly innovative foods can be designed. There is nothing incongruous with delivering a product that is both great tasting and healthier. Companies, for their own sales growth, must concoct new combinations to bewitch us while working their magic on better-for-you options as well.
• “Stealth” your way to healthier (and tasty) treats. We’ve already seen that PepsiCo
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  is doing this in their Frito-Lay division, as I wrote about in Forbes last month. In addition, soda companies have pledged to shave 20% more calories from their product portfolios by 2025 without compromising on taste. And Mondelez, the maker of Oreos, has committed that 20% of their revenues by 2025 will come from portion-controlled products. We need more companies to step up like this.
• Provide incentives to develop and market better-for-you products. Instead of jumping in and capitalizing on the growth potential for healthier products, too much attention continues to be given to traditional product formats and line extensions. There is no more effective way than to benefit both employees and companies by financially incentivizing managers to shift their focus to building categories that are healthier for their consumers.

As I ate my way through the show, I was reminded that sweets, snacks and confectionery treats delivered outstanding taste and satisfaction. Snack and candy makers are getting the message that consumers don’t want to give that up, but want these foods in more reasonable portions and better-for-you versions. More companies need to follow their lead.