Candy Makers Turn Up the Creativity to Keep Consumer Interest
COVID-19 has dimmed the prospects for specialty chocolate retail stores as the pandemic pushes consumers to grocery stores and online distribution channels
Want to talk candy trends? It’s not unusual to talk about new offerings combining both sweet and sour flavors. Then again, sweet and sour also describes life itself the candy industry
Times are changing in confections, especially when it comes to where consumers are purchasing new products. In late-January 2021, Godiva announced it would shutter all of its US retail locations in the by the end of the first quarter. COVID-19 has dimmed the prospects for specialty chocolate retail stores as the pandemic pushes consumers to grocery stores and online distribution channels.
Perhaps not surprisingly, overall innovation in confectionery products was less than stellar in 2020. Innova Market Insights data show launches for the first 11 months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 were down just under 18%. Chewing gum was especially hard hit, posting a decline of more than 30%.