Candy industry hops on low-carb bandwagon
CHICAGO — Call it Candy Lite.
Long viewed as a slightly naughty self-indulgence, candy is getting a makeover as companies try to concoct sweets that are a little healthier.
From low-carb to low-cal to sugar-free to “guilt-free,” many of the estimated 1,400 new products on the market this year come with a health pitch of some kind. And the array of soon-to-be-released offerings on display at this week’s All Candy Expo, North America’s largest candy trade show, shows the pro-health movement is just getting rolling.
Tinkering with treats is part of the low-carb boom being served up by the U.S. food industry in response to the growing popularity of the Atkins and South Beach diets. Candy makers also are anxious to avoid any repercussions from rising obesity among children, although the National Confectioners Association trade group contends kids’ candy consumption hasn’t increased.
So far the strategy appears to be working. Sales of “diet candy,” the industry’s feel-good term for sugar-free and reduced-carb sweets, soared 90 percent to more than $273 million last year as overweight Americans fretted more about nutrition and health. And supermarket shelves are being stocked regularly with new low-carb goodies, likely ensuring the fad won’t fade any time soon.
“There’s no doubt that the buzz in the industry right now is really health-conscious candy,” said Barry Sokol of Sorbee International, a Philadelphia-based company that touted its new sugar-free products at the All Candy Expo. “This low-carb craze is beyond going through the roof.”
Sugar-lovers, relax — it’s not all about health. Low-carb or sugar-free items still comprise just a fraction of the $24 billion-a-year confectionery industry. And gobs of teeth-tingling sugar candies still commanded attention at the three-day trade show, which ended Thursday.
Debut items included jumbo-sized Smarties, one-pound chocolate wreaths and chili-pepper flavored candy called Diablo Ignited Sours. In the ever-popular gross-out category, there was Brain Drain Liquid Candy, which maker Kandy Kastle promotes as feeling like “brains rolling around in your mouth.”
But the focus on sour and “extreme” tastes that influenced new products a year or two ago has shifted to a more healthful approach featuring low-carb fudge and licorice, sugar-free jellybeans, calcium-fortified wafers and a whey protein diet bar.
A few random samplings found such items as sugar-free Reese’s Pieces and low-carb Gummi Bears tasted pretty much the same as the regular recipe, but some others failed to delight.
“It’s easier to do low-carb and taste good than it is to do low-fat and taste good,” explained analyst Mark Hugh Sam, who follows food companies for Chicago-based Morningstar Inc.