The comingling of snack food brands with candy is increasingly becoming a key ingredient in licensing.

That trend was on full display at last week’s Sweets & Snacks Expo in Indianapolis, IN., among the first major U.S. trade shows to resume as an in-person event.

A Good Start Toward ‘Normal”
And while attendance was down – 50% by some counts, with the absence of buyers from major chains such as Target and Walmart – there were contingents from CVS, Walgreens, Meijer and others. And there were more than 450 exhibitors including The Hershey Co., Galerie Candy and Gifts, Frankford Candy and Mars Wrigley that mixed with Wise Foods, Bridgford Foods and Hostess Foods. Many had smaller booths than in the past.

The blurring of the lines between snack foods and candy has been ongoing for several years – the National Confectioners Association renamed its annual show to reflect that – the combination has taken on added importance in the past year given ever-shifting film release schedules.

Stability of Co-Brands
“There are a lot of companies that and relied heavily on the entertainment business, but with the changing release schedules they are finding that [food and candy brands] are the way to go,” says Matt Kavet, CEO of Boston America, which develops licensed candy tins and drinks and has worked with Just Born’s Peeps brand in the past. “Many companies are seeing that these co-branded candy or food products are never going to die and will have a much longer shelf life” than film-related properties.

There is also a “willingness of food brands to go outside their core categories and they all are pushing the envelope a little more,” says Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf, Principal at Project Partners Network. Most of the co-branding agreements combine a trademark license with an ingredients deal.

The mixing of candy and food brand business also is showing growth with the oft-overlooked Gen X customer (41-56 years old), which at 65.2 million is somewhat smaller than Gen Z (67.1 million) or Millennials (72.1 million), but has an increasing appetite for snacks, according to NPD.

“Historically adults in this life stage begin eating more snack foods, putting them firmly in a growth phase,” NPD said. “Their motivations for choosing a specific food vary, reflecting their great acceptance of snacking. Good taste, satisfaction and functionary are the reasons they choose snack foods.”

A touch of nostalgia could also be added to that list as demonstrated at the Expo:

• Frankford is extending its license with Post, adding Cocoa Pebbles candy bars to a line that launched with Fruity Pebbles last fall. Frankford also launched co-brand Dunkin Ice Coffee jelly beans earlier this year.
• Kellogg’s Froot Loops and Cocoa Krispies are moving into cereal straws with Galerie, which had already licensed those brands for candy canes. Galerie also introduced Froot Loops jelly beans and gummies. Galerie also is home to Finders Keepers, which combine a piece of chocolate with Paw Patrol, Trolls, Hot Wheels and SpongeBob SquarePants figures.
• Mars’ Peanut M&Ms are in a new version of Snax Sational Brands’ Candy Pop popcorn, joining a line that includes other candy and cookie brands such as Twix, Snickers, Oreos and Chips Ahoy.
• The lines between cookies and candy are blurring. Mondelez International has introduced versions of Chips Ahoy cookies co-branded with the Hershey’s and Reese’s labels.
• Spangler Candy Co. launched Oreo candy canes, which joins other licensed versions that include Perfetti van Melle’s Airheads and Chupa Chups, Mondelez’s Sour Patch and Swedish Fish and Jelly Belly.
• Mars’ Turin Division is expanding its liquor-infused chocolates category, adding Sazerac Co.’s Fireball Whiskey to a line that also includes Johnny Walker Scotch, 1800 Tequila and Malibu Coconut Rum.