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CHICAGO – The annual Most Innovative New Product Awards have kicked off the 25th Sweets & Snacks Expo by recognizing this year’s most innovative confectionery and snack products and the companies that created them. These products have been developed over the last year and are now available on store shelves or will be made available to shoppers in the coming months.
“Innovation puts the candy and snack categories in the driver’s seat when it comes to flavor and product trends, and the 2022 Most Innovative New Product Awards continue to highlight those that accelerate us into the future,” John Downs, president and CEO of the National Confectioners Association, said.“Consumers have been making life at home a little more enjoyable over the past two years by incorporating their favorite treat or snack into their lives in a way that has brought a variety of new flavors and fun to their daily routines.”
Retail leaders representing 85% of the confectionery and snack categories’ buying power served as judges across the 13 categories that comprise the Most Innovative New Product Awards, including Small Business Innovator and the highly coveted Best in Show designation, and ultimately evaluated more than 300 candy and snacks.
The winners of the Most Innovative New Products Awards are:
- Best in Show: Trü Frü LLC Nature’s Strawberries Hyper-Chilled Fresh in Ruby Cacao
- Small Business Innovator: Carrot Bacon – Carolina Smoke
- Chocolate: Lindt & Sprüngli (USA) Inc. Lindt CLASSIC RECIPE OatMilk
- Non-Chocolate: Ferrara Nerds Gummy Clusters Very Berry 8 oz.
- Gum & Mints: Mars Wrigley US EXTRA Refreshers Fruity Mix Sugar-Free Chewing Gum
- Salty Snacks: KrackCorn, LLC KrackCorn Original Family Size
- Sweet Snacks: The Hershey Company Reese’s Snack Bar
- Meat Snacks: 4505 Meats Chile Limon Chicharrones
- Savory Snacks: Pecan Nation Cinnamon Healthy Snacking Pecans
- Novelty/Licensed: Jelly Belly Candy Co. Jelly Belly Harry Potter Butterbeer Barrel Tin
- Seasonal: Ferrero NA Kinder Holiday Mix Countdown Calendar
- Gourmet/Premium | Candy: Ferrero North America Nutella B-Ready
- Gourmet/Premium | Snack: Trü Frü, LLC Natures Strawberries Hyper-Dried Fresh and Immersed in Crème
Additionally, the 2022 Sweets & Snacks Expo announced the winners of the Golden and Silver Candy Dish Awards and the Woman of Influence Award during Monday’s presentation:
- 2022 Golden Candy Dish Award: Kathy Corcoran, vice president at Premier Specialty
- 2022 Silver Candy Dish Award: Lois Anthony, director of sales at PEZ
- 2022 Woman of Influence Award: Emily Edmondson, sales director at Galerie
