NEWS ROUNDUP 1996-04-22 (3)

Hershey's Hard Candy to Debut

ods' first hard candy, TasteTations, will be available in June in caramel, butterscotch, peppermint and chocolate flavors.

During the introductory period, 25-cent variety packs containing one of each flavor, and 99-cent, 5.5-ounce variety packs will be available. Other sizes of the individually wrapped candies will include: 5-ounce, 7-ounce and 11-ounce bags, and a 1.8-ounce roll.

Hershey here is also introducing Sweet Escapes, a line of reduced-fat chocolate bars that will be available nationally in May.

Currently, three chocolate bars, each containing 33% to 50% less fat than the average leading chocolate brands, make up the line: Caramel and Peanut Butter Crispy Bar, Triple Chocolate Wafer Bar and Chocolate Toffee Crisp Bar.

Sathers Expands Halloween Line

ROUND LAKE, Minn. -- Sathers here has introduced some new items for Halloween, including the Novelty Box line, a collection of single-serve boxes that includes cinnamon-flavored Vampire Teeth candies, assorted flavors of Headstones and cherry-flavored Bat Eyes that turn consumers' mouths red.

The boxes come packed in 36-count prepacked counter displays that contain 12 boxes of the three novelties. National rollout of the single-serve Halloween boxes will begin in June and each box will carry a suggested retail of 40 cents.

Other additions for Halloween include Sathers lay-down bag mixes of candy and gum items. A 24-ounce bag of Bubble Gum Mix will be available nationally in June.

Dae Julie Adds Two New Lines

DES PLAINES, Ill. -- Dae Julie Inc. here has introduced a line of fish-shaped confections and six new Christmas items.

The Catch of the Day line features three fish-shaped varieties: Loud Trout, available only in red; Rainbow Trout, available in four colors, and Darlin Marlin, available in assorted colors.

The fish come packaged in 5-pound bags packed four per case or in 30-pound bulk cases. The suggested retail price is $1.99 per pound. Dae Julie's other introductions come from Windel GmbH & Co., Osnabrueck, Germany. Several candy-filled Christmas items are available for order now, but will not ship until closer to September and October.

Christmas Sleighs, packed with 4.2-ounce toffees and a chocolate Santa, come packed 22 sleighs per self-displaying case. Each sleigh retails for $4.99.

Music Bear, which plays a children's song when squeezed, is packed with 3.5-ounces of chocolate. Suggested retail price is $9.99. Sixteen bears come in a self-displaying case. Two other plush toys with candy are Father Christmas and Niki, the Christmas Bear. Father Christmas comes packed 15 per self-displaying case. He carries 2.1 ounces of filled and unfilled chocolates and a suggested retail price of $7.99.

Niki comes packed with 6.2 ounces of chocolate, chocolate toffees, lollipop and chocolate dragees in a Christmas stocking. Niki bears come packed 40 per display and retail at $7.99.

Spangler Unpeels Banana Split Pop

BRYAN, Ohio -- Spangler Candy here has added a banana split flavor to its Astro Pop family.

The cone-shaped pop has a cherry taste at the top, then vanilla and finally banana. Thirty-six pops come packed in display boxes, eight boxes to a case. The products are available nationally and carry a suggested retail price of 35 cents.