June 2009 Archives
CHICAGO, Illinois (UrHo) -- This is Part 2 of Urban Honking's SPECIAL REPORT on the All Candy Expo from Laura Pearson and David Sampson. You can read Part 1 here.
ICEE Spray Candy: Not so NICEE.
Speaking of cracked out candy: ICEE Spray Candy. You know the super concentrated syrup that goes into ICEEs? It's like that, but as a fine mist dispensed from a teeny tiny spray can. The pictures say it all....
Funley's Stix in the Mud: A candy that stix with you.
The people at the Funley's booth were the friendliest candy folk we met at the ACE. How can you not love a mom-and-pop op that sends this follow-up email: "David Sampson came by our booth at All Candy Expo....
He took what we hoped would be some stellar pics and heard a bunch about us and our candy company.... How can we track down this fella and get him more info on the Funley's Fenomenon?"? (Answer: You cannot not love.)
Stix in the Mud are chocolate covered cookie bits--a bit salty, a bit sweet. There are also caramel stix and peanut butter stix and a classic rock flavor called Styx in the Mud and a bluesy flavor called Stix in the Muddy Waters. (OK, kidding about those last two.) In any case, it was well worth it to stop by and pick up Stix.
5-Hour Energy: When four hours just ain't enough.
You don't need to go to the ACE to know that energy drinks and shots--especially those promising hours upon hours of energy--are currently all the rage. And yet David and I realized neither of us had ever done a 5-Hour: the shot that guarantees "hours of energy without the crash."
By early afternoon, not only were we seriously craving anything but sweets and snacks, but we were also dramatically descending from the morning's sugary heights. So we hit Au Bon Pain for some "food" food, then each slammed a 5-Hr. Sure enough, we were soon buzzing around the expo once again. Sidenote: Do you know? One 5-Hr. Energy shot provides 8,333% of your daily Vitamin B12 needs. I am approx. 62% intrigued by this fact and 38% frightened.
Meat Snacks: Where's the beef? Oh, right here.
The ACE threw some meat snacks into the mix, some of which David sampled. He mostly just wanted to consume a few non-sweet foods. I was kinda hoping there'd be some fake meat varieties, but no such luck.
Instead, I kept busy posing with meat mascots and playing the claw game.
Hey! I won a T-shirt prize. Oddly enough, the shirt advertises Matador, a new brand of beef jerky that targets teens "with an action-driven lifestyle." Y'know, snowboarders, skaters, BMXers, people who love the claw game, etc. Apparently beef jerky "snack sticks" taste really good to people living on the edge.
Toxic Waste: Helping the planet while destroying your taste buds.
Toxic Waste is "hazardously sour candy" that comes in various forms, e.g., Hi-Voltage Bubble Gum, Nuclear Sludge Chew Bars, and Sour Spray Candy. (Oh no! More sprays!) Sure, they're ridiculously sour. But it occurred to me that the only thing truly hazardous thing about Toxic Waste is the marketing campaign. Rather than ride the "Go Green" wave, Toxic Waste is all about nuclear sludge, poisonous fumes, and chemical spills. But the Toxic Waste PR team has wasted no time in diverting attention away from this potentially uh, toxic image by promoting environmental awareness. On the website, the company offers games like Professor Sauernoggin and the Landfill of Doom (in which kids help Prof. Sauernoggin clean up the landfill), as well as a list of Earth Day Tips for Helping the Environment. At least they're blazing their own trail!
Le Whif: One moment on the lips, so NOT a lifetime on the hips.
Le Whif is a chocolate inhaler made in France. It's also the exact sort of innovation David and I were hoping to stumble upon at the ACE. "Combining chocolate and aerosol science," Le Whif is packaged in a sleek brown and pink lipstick-like tube. Each tube contains a single inhalation of fine chocolate powder, which packs a grand total of zero calories. Apparently, a Harvard professor came up with the idea. Figures! At the All Candy Expo, it was in an (Ivy) League of its own.
Le monsieur at Le Whif's booth was very eager to speak with me about the wonderful psychological and emotional and physical benefits of whiffing, but unfortunately he was out of samples!!! What?! NOOOOOO!!! So although I listened to his long and animated pitch, I cannot gush on and on about this curious calorie-less experience and just how far the combination of chocolate and aerosol science has come. The rep did say they want to extend the science of whiffing to other things--i.e., soup. Can you imagine inhaling a bowl of tomato bisque? Minestrone? Curious indeed.
Whiff it; whiff it good.
Candy Teeth: All up in our grillz.
Candy teeth/grillz seem to be something of a trend right now. We encountered quite a few versions. Taste never seems to be much of a concern with these things; it's all about the novelty factor.
Flavor 101: Move over açaí berry: the future lies in lulo.
Maybe the best thing David and I did at the expo was to attend a seminar called Flavor 101. Via PowerPoint presentations and taste tests, experts in the field taught us about the newest trends in exotic fruit flavors. Whereas pomegranate was all the rage a couple years ago, and then we saw the rise of fruits like açaí berry and mangosteen, tomorrow's market will be all about fruits like cupuaçu, rambutan, cherimoya, soursop (guanabana), lulo, and camu camu. Many of these flavors are already popular in other parts of the world, but they are just starting to show up on US shelves. Some are shockingly delicious and others taste like sunscreen. In any case, come quickly, guanabana!
Playing in Candy Land: More images from the expo.
Candy Names We Liked:
OOBZ TOOBZ
TANGY ZANGY BELTS
JUICY OOZERS
BIG FAT HISSEE FIT
NUT DEMONS
Candy Wrap-Up
As expected, the All Candy Expo was an intense sensory experience. Sights! Smells! Flava flaves! It was also very much an industry-only trade show in the sense that if you were wearing the right color of nametag--particularly the color that designated "buyer"--you were guaranteed much better treatment from candy reps. Had we worn suits and ties (ties featuring jelly beans/candy corn/M&Ms, of course) and gone incognito as confectionary and snack buyers, David and I surely would've gotten a whole new perspective on the candy biz. Oh well, next year...!
Despite a certain expo hierarchy, we met quite a few people--like the Funley's fellow--who were stoked that we were reporting for a food blog and who spoke very passionately about their products. Such vendors presented us with extra samples and press packets and (I think) recognized our mutual candy connection--that shared candy-related glimmer in our eyes (just before the 5 Hour energy shots finally wore off). After leaving the convention center, we reboarded the bus on Dum Dum Drive and headed home, expo-nentially more sugared up than before. And we learned this, too: After it's all about sweets and snacks, it's all about real eats and naps.
CHICAGO, Illinois (UrHo) -- How does one get to the ALL CANDY EXPO: "The Largest Confectionary, Cookie & Snack Show in the Americas"? One might try boarding a free shuttle on Dum Dum Drive (AKA the street adjacent to the Hilton in downtown Chicago). After a quick ride--during which time one's candy-related excitement might well reach max levels (despite the fact that it's like, 9 in the morning)--the shuttle will drop one off at McCormick Place, a huge convention center near the lakeshore, home to such epic expositions as The National Restaurant Association Show, WINDPOWER 2009, and The International Plastics Showcase. But for three days in May, at the National Confectioners Association's ALL CANDY EXPO, "It's all about sweet & snacks."
How does one describe this trade show? First of all, one switches to a more casual narrative style, i.e., first person: It was I, Laura Pearson, along with photographer David Sampson, who experienced this exceptionally sweet expo (or should I say, "expo-rienced"?) It was we who got sugared up, came crashing down, consumed still more sugar, crashed further down; encountered new candy and new spins on classic confections; witnessed weird aspects of candy culture and candy merchandising; braided candy into bracelets; sprayed candy into our mouths; traversed new flavor frontiers; and looked around frantically for a sandwich.
What follows are some notes and images from the 2009 ALL CANDY EXPO (or, for brevity's sake, the ACE) that took place from May 19-21 in Chicago. In the words of that legendary CEO/candy pioneer Willy Wonka, the show offered "little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous"...or well, nothing too dangerous (did I mention candy sprays?!). In the words of P Diddy, "let's goooooooo!!!"
CrEATables: They roped me in.
One of our first stops was the CrEATables table (an innovation by Dutch candy co. Fascini) where I learned to braid candy "laces" into lanyard jewelry. The nice CrEATables rep explained that this is a way for kids to play with their food without making a huge mess. I can see how this candy encourages kids' crEATivity, but the plastic-y ropes--in strawberry, apple, tutti frutti, and blue razz--don't pack much flavor. Still, I love a good candy craft. Sidenote: I wore a CrEATables bracelet of my own CrEATion throughout the day, until I decided it was gross to sport wearable candy in public bathrooms.
Surf Sweets: A new wave in gummies?
This was one of David's favorites of the ACE. Surf Sweets are gummies--some of which are gelatin-free (yessss)--that are made with organic fruit juice, provide 100% Vitamin C per serving, and just generally promote a Cali lifestyle of "healthy living and fun." AKA Endless Summer Candy.
WaveBake Treats: Or, everything the Slow Food movement is against in one microwavable bowl.
WaveBake offered us a taste of their premixed (and patent pending) products. You microwave 'em for 40 seconds in order to achieve some sort of warm, doughy brownie-like thing. I asked if they tasted like freshly baked cookies, and the WaveBake rep said, "Yeah. Well, one of them does." (The oatmeal one, in case you were wondering.)
Brownie points for being an almost-ready-to-eat treat. Brownie demerits for looking pretty unappetizing.
Brain Power Potion Bracelets: The kid-friendliest candy in the land?
Quick quiz: What are the three things kids love most?
Answer: Candy. Jewelry. And magic!
I admit that I did not try the powdered candy inside The Real Magic Potion Company's JARM bracelets. Not sure why, since these particular specimens were packed with both "Brain Power Potion" and "Lucky Candy Potion." Whoa! However, I did love this sweetly simple sales pitch ("What are the three things kids love most?"), naïve though it may be. I was about to guess that the three things kids love most are Flamin' Hot Cheetos, those Heelys shoes, and the Jo Bros.
GÜDFÜD: Will not harsh your mellow or marsh your mallow.
Featuring some of the cutest packaging of all the candy at the ACE, the GÜDFÜD company offered samples of their chocolate- and jelly-filled marshmallows. I'm not a big fan of either jelly filling or marshmallows, so this combo wasn't really my thang. However, I am a fan of the über positive GÜDFÜD vibe. According to their website, "Our mission is to bring to the market the most yummy products from all over our happy planet. The umlauts above each letter "U" in our name creates a smiley face that everyone loves."
Crackheads: You do the math.
Crackheads are chocolate-covered espresso beans THAT ARE CRAZILY CAFFEINATED!!! That's why they're called CRACKHEADS!!! How much caffeine do Crackheads pack? Apparently, 1 Box = 6 cups of coffee, 7.5 cans of Red Bull, or 11 cans of Mountain Dew.
I thought it would be hilarious to ask the Crackheads dude if they offer any decaf varieties, and this was my response:
Crackheads remind me of that short-lived energy drink Cocaine: Its name led to its demise. I guess the people behind Crackheads are also jittery that their product might be pulled from shelves, because on their website they've already revealed a backup plan: "Love the product but not the name? Jitterbeans™ now released."
Tomorrow is Part 2 of Urban Honking's SPECIAL REPORT on the All Candy Expo from Laura Pearson and David Sampson.
