The Candy Industry Trends You Should Follow In 2023

Almost everyone likes candy. While there will be the occasional friend, colleague, or relative you know who isn’t particularly fond of sugar, this is rarely the case. Given that 99.9% of us like to indulge in the occasional sweet treat, the question often comes up: Are the trends in the confectionery industry worth watching in 2023?

Some confectionery trends come and go, but some remain, and really good confectionery can create an entire industry niche, becoming the proverbial “rising tide lifts all boats.” We’ve recently seen real-life examples of this phenomenon, such as spicy candy, super sour candies, and even the recent freeze-dried candy. Many of these trends are instantaneous, thanks to some viral videos on social media channels like TikTok. In the age of social media, a popular video can turn even the most niche product into a household name. While strolling the aisles of the 2023 Candy and Snack Expo in Chicago, the impact social media has had on the candy industry in recent years is abundantly clear.

Snack EXPO Harvest

Candy and Snack Expo is an annual event hosted by the National Candy Association. This is the premier global industry activity. The celebrities in the candy and snack industry gathered to show their latest and most innovative products. At the annual candy conference, many start-ups and emerging small enterprises also occupy an important position. Some brands of products and creativity have achieved rapid success at this event. People from all over the world come to participate in this event, hoping to make their products get angry.

Although you can create the existing candy products from many snacks, from the latest breakfast oatmeal to sugar-free lollipops, when talking about emerging snack trends, you can take a step back to see a bigger one to see a larger one and look at a larger one. Getting a lot of insights from this. Especially when studying emerging snack trends, you will find people’s taste changes and preferences.

Texture Will Be A Big Selling Point For Candy and Snack Products In 2023

One of the highlights we noticed was that the textures of popular snacks were constantly being showcased at all corners of the fair. Many manufacturers are using videos on YouTube, TikTok and other social media channels to help them better market their products. Many new products offer sensory experiences and interests that go far beyond the pleasure of taste.

For example, one of the winners of this year’s Product Innovation Award is a lollipop that uses “bone-conduction audio” to play music in your head. This is absolutely crazy, but this could be a hit with American consumers!

We see a lot of people at the expo promoting products that are super crunchy, or soft. Recently, these texture descriptions have become more prominent on snack packaging, and we think this trend will continue for quite some time. People are no longer limited to the single image of candy in the past, and are more willing to accept novel and interesting candy products. This behavior is a kind of curiosity psychology, coupled with the influence of social media communication, it is easy to make a product known all over the world.

Spicy & Extremely Hot Products Still Popular

Globally, we’re seeing a shift to spicier flavors in the candy and snack aisles. This has been driven in part by social media challenges, such as the YouTube hit First We Feast, in which guests are challenged to eat increasingly spicy chicken wings. With more than 12 million subscribers, the channel is a real-life testament to the growing popularity of extremely spicy food.

We’ve seen the great success of both spicy candies in the market selection. Sweet and gentle candy is no longer a single bestseller! From the Carolina Reaper Gummy Bear and Ghost Pepper Soda, we find that more and more people are enjoying the challenge of eating extremely spicy products.

Extremely Sour Candies Are Another Interesting Trend

Speaking of social media challenges, one trend that continues to captivate candy lovers is the rise of ultra-sour candy. There are many candy manufacturers, in the beginning, to target other candy flavors in the market to attract people to buy. Sour Patch, for example, offers a variety of sour candies for customers who don’t want to eat sweets. Now there are more and more candy manufacturers to develop super sour candy, which unexpectedly won the favor of many young people.

Sour food itself is easy to make people salivate, before eating sour things, the mouth and tongue taste buds will be strongly stimulated, and the mouth will secrete a lot of saliva to dilute. Over time, it will form a conditioned reflex. In order to keep their products active and occupy the market, candy manufacturers constantly refresh the upper limit of acidity. Let those Vloggers unbox and try new products, and share this new experience online with friends and fans to attract more people to buy.

The Power Of Combining Brand And Product

In the evolving snack world, the integration of licensed intellectual property (IP) into confectionery, snack and beverage products is an ongoing trend. This clever blend combines the appeal of beloved movies, TV shows, cartoons and video games with the delicious taste that consumers have come to expect from well-known brands. SpongeBob SquarePants gummy candies to Disney’s Frozen-themed candy fans, or even Marvel’s Avengers candy box, the options seem endless.

Recently, Rocket Fizz has generated a lot of interest in its Breaking Bad series of sodas. Although the show ended 10 years ago in 2013, its popularity continues to this day. From the snack industry, it is not difficult to find that the success of these products is attributed to the perfect combination of product innovation taste and popular culture IP. By combining popular IP with product brands, snack companies can dig deep into the deep emotional connection between consumers and their favorite characters and storylines, and then transform it into product sales to arouse the resonance of fans. This gives us a very important hint in the sales of confectionery products, which has an impact on future development.