By Carrie Sloan

candy counter

Gourmet escapism and old-fashioned nostalgia are big purchasing themes for the season. Tap into these trends with the more than 50 
sure-sellers and innovative products featured here.

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The economy may still be sour, but we’re living in a candy-happy land. In 2008, sales did dip, says Jenn Ellek, director of trade marketing and communications at the National Confectioners’ Association, but due to an uptick in consumer confidence this year, she says, “the organization projects a solid two percent increase in seasonal sales.”

“I like to think that the focus now is on giving value—not the fluff, but good quality products that you can sink your teeth into,” says David Porat, founder of Chelsea Market Baskets in New York. This year, says Porat, his price points will be set a bit lower, and he’ll rely on go-to’s like Fran’s Chocolates salted caramels. A prime example of an indulgence consumers will spend on, the product sold off shelves last season and is expected to be in high demand again as it’s been widely publicized as a favorite of President Obama.

There’s no escaping that the financial landscape is shaping customers’ cravings. For 2009, two key themes are emerging. The first? Gourmet escapism. Last year, in an already-slumping economy, Porat’s best-selling baskets included the Tour of Chocolates, a double-decker exploration of European and American treats. The multi-tiered gift provided a metaphorical getaway. This year, Dylan Lauren, founder and CEO of Manhattan’s Dylan’s Candy Bar, is cooking up a Candy Around the World theme, featuring a basket with “the ‘best of’ from different countries,” she says.

The other touchpoint: Nostalgia. “We see customers looking for comfort food items, chocolate for a ‘pick-me-up,’ and [to remember] the happy memories from their childhood through candy,” says Lauren. In her 2009 holiday line, she’ll include her popular Time Capsules, a cornucopia of sweet treats sorted by decade (the 1960’s Capsule, for example, contains old confection favorites such as Mallow Cups, Razzles and Pixy Stix).

On the following pages are more examples of what other confections are likely to win the hearts and minds of four very different consumer segments this holiday season.


For The Sophisticates
Single-origin and high-cacao-content chocolates and upscale caramels are evergreen options for consumers with adventurous and developed palates. However, these shoppers continually seek new taste experiences, and will be bored with the same old offerings. Retro candies and chocolate bars also appeal to this crowd, especially if there is an interesting story about their history 
or production to go along with the high-quality taste.

First, in top-shelf selections: At Tony Caputo’s Market & Deli in Salt Lake City, Utah, single-origin bars by Art Pollard, founder of Amano, are hot. “People are trading up. We sell three to four cases a day,” says Director of Marketing Matt Caputo. Pollard recently released three more bars: The MoNTANYA and the Ocumare Milk, both from Venezuela and recipients of this year’s London Academy of Chocolate Awards, and the Jembrana, billed as the world’s first single-origin bar from Bali. Two more bars, says Pollard, should be forthcoming by fall.

Ann Arbor, Mich. purveyor Zinger-man’s Deli, is readying to launch a line of retro candy bars this fall. “If everything goes as planned, Zingerman’s Candy Manufactury will open this August,” says Pastry Manager and Co-partner Charlie Frank. It will debut with a line of three highly anticipated Zzang! Bars, which will be sold nationwide with the tagline, “Taking you back 100 years!”—slotting neatly into this year’s nostalgic theme. “We imagine that this is what candy tasted like before people invented artificial flavors and ingredients,” explains Frank. The Original features peanut butter nougat and Muscavado caramel; the Ca$hew Cow is a blend of milk chocolate, ground nuts and a cashew brittle; and the What The Fudge? mixes milk chocolate fudge, Muscavado caramel and a malted milk cream fondant. Each is coated in 65 percent dark chocolate.

For candy with (literal) pop—and another taste that harkens back to childhood—Chuao Chocolatier, Carlsbad, Calif., offers its Firecracker line, with dark chocolate, chipotle, salt and popping candy.

Charles Chocolates in San Francisco, offers bars in five flavors, including varieties featuring chocolate-covered coffee beans, crystallized ginger and roasted hazelnuts. Their best basket filler is nuts, specifically triple chocolate almonds and hazelnuts. “In terms of bestsellers, these have done well,” says Owner Chuck Siegel—a fact he attributes to the signature blend (65 percent dark/41 percent milk chocolate) and the Valhrona cocoa used to keep the nuts from clumping. The company is also working on the design of its edible chocolate box, which will be all-new for the holidays.

French imports from Crossings, in Worcester, Mass., include Paris Caramels, a bestseller, sold in flavors like chocolate, vanilla and gingerbread and colorful, retro Bonte-Pinson lollipops and hard candies. Another sophisticated option from Crossings is Roy René Calissons, a confection made from almond paste and crushed candied fruits topped with icing and sold in an elegant, clear, diamond-shaped box.

In August, European chocolatier Landrin brings its Waferatto line, five flavors of high-end cream and wafer wrapped in packaging that opens like a blossoming flower, to the U.S. “The packaging is something we worked quite hard on,” says CEO Stan Kisselev. “The colors are very fashion-forward, very 2009—including the recession red,” he quips.


For The Health-Conscious
There is plenty that’s new in treats for the health- or diet-minded as well. Nut and fruit confection mixes, and organic ingredients, are typically hits with this consumer segment. “Organics have been very popular,” says Meghan Fitzpatrick of Lake Champlain Chocolates in Burlington, Vt. In fact, the retailer will reissue two stand-outs from its organic line: a 15-piece organic truffle box and the Organic Fair Trade Hot Chocolate. Lake Champlain will also debut a new addition to its chunky Five Star Bars: The Granola bar—maple granola with roasted almonds and dried cranberries and cherries, blended with dark chocolate and almond paste.

Marich Confectionery, Hollister, Calif., will add a new product: Holly Leaves and Berries—pecans covered in a green-colored white chocolate, mixed with dried cranberries layered in a candy fruit confection. The company’s biggest holiday seller, by far, is dried Bing cherries covered in chocolate and a burgundy-colored cherry fruit confection, sold in 8-ounce gift bags. “They’re incredibly beautiful,” says CEO Brad Van Dam, “and outsell the plain [Bing cherries coated in] milk and dark chocolate by a long-shot.”

Sensational Sweets, Lewisburg, Pa., offers Americana fruit clusters with five different dried fruits, which, says Founder/Owner Virginia Feitner, do well at holiday time. “We have six different packaging options,” she says, “from Christmas trees to blue and silver snowflakes.”

At Sunflower Food & Spice Company in Riverside, Mo., Sunny Seed Drops—sunflower seeds coated with Belgian milk chocolate, and covered with colorful candy coatings made from vegetable dyes, will get a holiday makeover: Come December, the company will sell the seeds in 1.4-
ounce plastic “Christmas lightbulbs,” in colors usually seen in holiday lights adorning trees or windows.


For The Dietary-Restricted
Consumers facing food allergies, dietary intolerances or other restrictions don’t need to be left out of the indulgence. An increasing number of suppliers are creating lines that are free of dairy, sugar and artificial ingredients and retailers are stocking them.

Choffy—a new brewed chocolate line out of Portland, Ore., is “about to take the chocolate world by storm,” says Matt Caputo. The three blends, made from 100 percent organic cacao beans are sugar-, dairy-, and chemical-free and, though a natural stimulant, offer only trace amounts of caffeine. They also boast health benefits: By weight, cacao reportedly contains the highest antioxidant concentration of any food in the world, outranking red wine, blueberries—even pomegranate and açai.

Koppers in New York City has a bevy of kosher sweets on offer, including gourmet malted balls in flavors like Cinnamon and Peppermint Twist. The Hanukkah and Christmas best-sellers, all available in bulk, include mint mentils, cordials, and chocolate almonds, available in red/white/green or blue and white color combinations.

Crossings is introducing a new sophisticated Paris caramel with goat’s milk, goat cheese and buckwheat that’s allergy-friendly and gluten-free.

And, in Asheville, N.C., Ulli Mana turns out hand-made raw food truffles sweetened with agave that are perfect for vegans, the lactose-intolerant or anyone seeking sugar-free foods. The holiday-friendly options include the company’s top seller, the Dark Cacao Truffle, as well as the Goji Cherry Truffle, the Peppermint Truffle, flavored with essential peppermint oil, and the Mayan Truffle, with cayenne and cinnamon which, says Founder and Owner Theresa Green, “is warming in the winter.” Sold by weight, the truffles are available in 5.5-ounce sizes—about ten pieces—and shipped in recycled cardboard boxes.


For Kids (and Kids at Heart)
The younger set gravitates toward what’s fun and novelty. Intensely sweet—or sour—tastes rather than complicated flavor profiles are generally most popular with children, though older kids and young adults largely have practiced palates and appreciate a wide taste spectrum.

At Marich, the belief is that kids and chocolates don’t really mix. “They gravitate more to sweet and sour,” says Van Dam, who makes a product called Toy Chest Sours: Jelly candies in the shapes of toy soldiers, rocking horses, Santas, snowmen and Christmas trees in red (watermelon), clear (pineapple), and green (apple.)

Dylan’s Candy Bar will also sell two baskets that feature “the trendiest novelty items,” says Lauren, “be it sour or gooey or anything kids are craving.” The Boy Wonder basket will contain items like Warhead Xtreme sour candy, Nascar Helmet Pez and crocodile gummies, while the Candy Princess boasts Princess Pop Pals, Cotton Candy Pops and a candy necklace.

Jelly Belly, Fairfield, Calif., will introduce its new Superfruit collection, with flavors like Blueberry, Cranberry and Cherry in August. The jelly bean purveyor also offers a line of bulk and packaged candies, of which the holiday bestsellers include Christmas Mix in flavors including Very Cherry, Green Apple, Coconut, Candy Cane and Red Apple. Other seasonal offerings back by popular demand: Sugar Plums—oversized purple non-pareil jelly candies; the Christmas Mallocreme mix, with Santas, drums, sleighs and more; and the candy cane Jelly Belly, white with red and green flecks, and flavored with oil of peppermint. Finally, the company will introduce 10-, 20- and 40-flavor gift boxes with a new holiday sleeve and lift-up flap where the giver can include a 
custom greeting.


As you begin planning for your holiday gift selection, these ideas can help you not only create focused baskets for these four distinct consumer categories but also mix and match to make baskets that appeal to a wide range of clients from families to corporate 
customers. |SFM|

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