Green tea Hershey’s Kisses, diabetic-friendly sprays that taste like ice cream, chewy Lemonheads and Atomic Fireballs: the candy industry’s All Candy Expo was held in Chicago earlier this month, and over 2,000 new products were revealed, many of which reflect consumers’ current fondness for low-calorie snacks, portion control, and energy-boosting products.

Many gums, for example, are now being positioned as “snack replacements” with grown-up flavors like “mint mojito” or “colada,” or come with added benefits like teeth whitener. But the future of snack sales lies in portion control, apparently, with companies like Mars launching entire lines of its existing snack products in smaller, healthier (by comparison) packs that are 150 calories or less. The CEO of Necco tells MarketWatch, “You end up with about three pieces of candy, but people really like it.”

“Can’t eat candy? Think of gum as a ‘sweet treat'” [Market Watch]

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“All Candy Expo – Monday Wrappers” [Candyblog]
“All Candy Expo Day 1” [Candy Addict]
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