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There’s no real way to prepare yourself for the Sweets and Snacks Expo. Sure, you can study the map, but it doesn’t help you truly understand what four acres of candy and treats looks like. You can memorize Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, or religiously read press releases for every major brand in sight, but still. Nothing compares to being on the floor.
From the moment I walked through the convention center doors and glimpsed the main hall, it was sensory overload, like glimpsing Disney World for the first time. That really is the best way to describe it: An amusement park for candy dealers. Massive signs and Honey, I Blew Up the Kids-scale replicas of candy hang from the ceiling, vibrant faux-walls are erected at every booth, and mascots from just about every candy company imaginable roam the hallways. This isn’t your typical, plastic-table-and-some-poster-boards setup. Not by a longshot.
Almost every booth offers free samples of their wares, and they’re not stingy about handing them out. Chocolates, gummies, sour candies, marshmallows — whatever you’re craving, they’ve got it, and in a dozen different shapes and flavors.
This is the place where brands debut their latest treats, all to entice grocery store owners and retail buyers from around the world to give up some coveted shelf space to carry their wares. It’s the world where Bob from Walmart or Jean from Publix are the hot chicks at the bar; the ones everyone’s clamoring to talk to or set up a date (ahem, sales meeting) with.
The titans of the snacks and candy industry are there, like Mars (M&M’s parent), Hershey’s and Jelly Belly, but so are the scrappier, smaller and brand-spanking-new brands, eager to get their products in front of people, like Van Holten’s, which showed off its new Pickle-Ice Pops.
Yup, that’s frozen pickle brine with added electrolytes. The tangy drink may sound crazy…unless you’re an athlete facing muscle cramps. Then this treat’s a lifesaver. Not to mention oddly delicious.
The Sweets and Snacks Expo is held in Chicago each year, around Memorial Day weekend, and while it’s meant to be a three-day event for candy buyers, sellers and the media, I met plenty of people who’d simply bought tickets to experience the mayhem (and treats) firsthand. If you go, make sure to pack an empty suitcase; you’ll need it for your candy haul.
Oh, and in case you’re curious, here are some of the coolest new treats we found: