Sweets & Snacks Expo opens for its final year in Chicago

Sweet home Chicago is a little bit sweeter this week as it hosts the annual Sweets & Snacks Expo.

The four-day expo that runs through Thursday transforms the McCormick Place convention center into a life-sized candy land will be the final show in Chicago before moving to new host cities.

Beginning in 2024, the Sweets & Snacks Expo will cycle through a rotation of two years in Indianapolis followed by one year in Las Vegas until 2032. 

“This year is an important inflection point for the Sweets & Snacks Expo, as it is the show’s final year in Chicago,” John Downs, president and CEO of the National Confectioners Association and Sweets & Snacks Expo host organization, said in a statement. 

“For more than 25 years, we have worked in collaboration with the city of Chicago to build and host the world’s premier candy and snack show,” Downs said.

As a leading showcase for innovation in the confectionery and snack industries the show floor was buzzing around tried and true as well as up-and-coming confections.

With more than 210,000 square feet of sweet, salty and sour products, the Sweets & Snacks Expo included 250 new exhibitors as well as a handful of American icons.

From its debut in 1937, Ethel Stuckey's legendary pecan log roll is making a comeback with the younger generations.

Now available in Food Lion and Ingles, other grocery retailers including Food City and Rouses are set to carry Stuckey’s candies.

“The demand is there,” Arleen Poquette, Stuckey’s sales director, told WGB.

On the show floor, this year’s must-have merchandise included a stuffed kangaroo with green boxing gloves from Australia-based Zappo Chews, a chewy fruity sour chew.

Zappo, which has been in the Australian market for 37 years, announced its imminent launch in the U.S.

“We’ve got containers on the water, so they should be here in the next two to three weeks,” Jay Henderson of Universal Candy told WGB on Monday.

Key trends from this year’s show included: brand collaborations, flavor mashups and social media-friendly interactive treats.