Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Candy Trends: PackagingHalf the time the stuff being announced in as new products aren’t really new. They’re just repackaging. Not that I have anything against that. I love a clever and useful boxes and tins and of course an engaging and colorful wrappers. First thing that I noticed a few years ago is nostalgic packaging. The first one I heard about was a retro version of 3 Musketeers, Snickers & M&Ms sold at WalMart stores. Then I started seeing Hershey’s special packaging. This year Just Born is into the act with nostalgic boxes for their most popular products: Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales and Goldenberg Peanut Chews. Is the candy different? Did they go back to the original recipe or something? No, pretty much the same. But I have to say, the Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews (review) taste a lot better than Chew-Ets. Maybe it’s that these were extra fresh ... or that it’s the first King-Size package I’ve had since I moved to California. (Though they were a sample from All Candy Expo folks, all the other above items pictured were from my personal stash.) First, Mars is going to be making their M&Ms Premiums (review) available in single-serve boxes. Pretty hot looking. I like the flip top, I like that the box was jam packed with the little triple chocolate premiums. I don’t have much info otherwise though ... I’m hoping they won’t be much more than the price of King Size M&Ms. (They are 1.2 ounces, not as much as a regular bag.) Hershey’s is also creating a bar format of their new Bliss line (review). I got this sample of the new Hershey’s Bliss Rich & Creamy Dark Chocolate Bar, it’s about the equivalent of five little Bliss bites. Look familiar? Yeah, not that different from the format of the Dove chocolate line. Kind of sad how much they look alike. Even though it feels like stuff is getting smaller and more expensive, I did find one bright spot in the news (in addition to the awesome new products, of course). Instead of the classic tray the LifeSaver Gummis (review) now come in a 2 ounce single serve pack (“With 33% More Gummies”). I saw these at them on shelves at the 7-11 already. The thing that I learned that was so surprising is that LifeSavers Gummis are the number one selling gummi in the United States. Not Haribo (who have been doing it far longer) or even previous domestic brands like Trolli or Black Forest. Nope, LifeSavers. The final news nugget is the renaming of Crackheads to Jitterbeans (well, that’s not entirely true, you can get them with either name). I reviewed them last year and Candy Addict’s Brian even appeared on TV to talk about the branding of the product (advocating a name change ... and this is a pretty good choice). The package is kind of intimidating. The same size as a regular Lemonheads box ... but this one advertises that it has as much caffeine as 6 cups of coffee. I haven’t counted up the beans, but I’m pretty sure that four would be my limit and never to be eaten after noon if I wanted to sleep. I’ve pointed out the new Mars packaging of their Dove large tablets in three pre-portioned & wrapped bars (review) which was followed by their organic wing Seeds of Change (review) doing the same. There are probably lots of other associations we’re all going to be making when we see the stuff on the shelves. (Especially when the old & new styles are sitting side by side.) What have you noticed so far? Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:30 am All Candy Expo • Candy • Featured News • News • |
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I’m really looking forward to the single serve of the M&M Premiums
that way if I buy a box and end up not liking the candy I wouldn’t feel as though I wasted money buying a large box
Creating the full-size Bliss bar was actually my team’s recommendation for a term project in the last Fall semester. If you remember, it was alluded to in the survey I posted in the forums.
Nice to have our recommendations validated - hope it performs…
i’ve tried both the crackheads (good) and the “new” jitterbeans. they’ve done away with the white chocolate, which was real and a great contrast to the coffee bean. now they have a shell like m&ms; and are white or brown in color only. chocolate on the inside. not particularly high quality. meh.
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