Chicago has a bunch of awesome events at the end of May. One of my faves is the National Confectioner’s Association (NCA) Sweets & Snacks Expo. This was my fifth year attending. The percentage of healthy snacks and candies with organic ingredients has grown exponentially. There are still many traditional candies, but the industry is moving to become more transparent. They have a new #alwaysatreat initiative to remind people to eat candy in moderation.
The show is three days. I was able to go for most of day 2. I made a handful of appointments and reviewed the exhibitor list to try to get to see brands that I like and want to try. Sapna attended for her first time, so I planned to meet her, too.
My first stop was RxBar. I was really keen to try their new nut butter that was just released. They gave me one of each flavor and some bars to share, too! They were next to my friends from Nakd. I chatted with them about my recent giveaway and their new flavors. I grabbed some of their Bear fruit rolls for my fave kid testers, too.
I stopped by at Money on Honey to tell them how many times they’ve lifted my spirits. I get them at Starbucks when I’m on the road sometimes for a treat. They rewarded me with a bunch of flavors to try.
Then, I headed to my first appointment with Country Archer. This is a jerky brand that I’ve worked with a few times. They explained their bar update and let me try all of the flavors. If you eat meat, you should check out these bars! They added collagen and a small amount of dates for a sweetness to offset the savory. Good stuff! I swung by to say hi to Peanut Butter & Co. They’ve rebranded and added the tagline “grab a spoon.” My thoughts exactly!
I went over to (literally) grab some Perky Jerky from the guy in the Velcro suit. They have a bunch of new flavors. I found out that they no longer have caffeine or guarana in the jerky. It still tastes great but I guess it’s not as “perky.” I made my annual stop at Hostess to get a pic with Twinkie the Kid. I also got a Twinkie and a Ding Dong for The Husband. I swung by to say “hi” to Live Love Pop and to thank them for my recent giveaway prize.
I headed over to meet YumEarth. I grabbed samples of a variety of yummy organic candies. Kim showed me a bunch of fun seasonal items that will be coming out for holidays. I even got to try their new formulation of candy corn. It’s soy free and it’s AMAZING. After this, I swung by Made Good to try their new soft baked mini cookies. They’re awesome and are great for school lunches as they’re free from common allergens.
Next, I went to meet Justin’s. They recently launched cashew butter and almond butter cups. I tried those at Expo West. The new items here were Cashew Butter, Maple Cashew Butter and Cinnamon Almond Butter. All three of these are winners. The cashew butters are so smooth (and they’re no stir!) They gave me an awesome bag of goodies and swag. I felt like a VIP! I checked out Bobo’s Oats’ new toaster pastries. They’re so delicious. I was happy to learn that they’ll be out in Whole Foods this week! If you’re in Chicago, look for Bobo’s around town all summer.
I headed over to meet Lovely Candy. In addition to their amazing caramels and other candies, they now have an organic line including the first organic “candy gems.” They see a big demand for organic ingredients and are excited about the new line. They gave me a bunch of candy to share.
I met up with Sapna and we compared notes (and full bags!) We swung by The Good Bean and tried their Favas and Peas. Then we met the folks from Pop Corners. They’ve rebranded and have introduced new flavors. The cool thing is that they have very few ingredients and they’re all ingredients you can pronounce – like corn and safflower oil.
We stopped to say hi to JJ from JJ’s Cocomels. I asked him why he used coconut in his caramels before coconut was all the rage. He’s a chemist, a foodie and he can’t eat dairy. He decided to try coconut milk to make caramels and the rest is history. They sent me all of the products to try and I still have some to share.
We visited with the folks from Hu Kitchen and checked out their chocolate and new coffee. Then, we swung by to say hi to my friends at Bubba’s Fine Foods (and to grab some of their new Buffalo Banana Chips). I introduced Sapna to Maddy & Maize Popcorn (and scored a bag of my unexpected fave Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake.) I saw that my friends from Cookie Pop won an award at the show. Sapna and I swung by to say congratulations and to grab some of the award winning Butterfinger Candy Pop.
Finally, I headed over to the Innovations area to meet with Thrive Tribe and Fruitivity. I’ve tried Thrive Tribe’s Paleo Bites, so I tried a cookie. It was great! Fruitivity makes crunchy apple snacks with a variety of fruit flavors. They’re made with apples and juice – that’s it. It’s pretty amazing to see an ingredient panel that has one ingredient – apples! (for the Original version.) I met a few new companies on the way out including TRU Chocolate and Java Me Up. TRU makes no sugar added chocolate products and Java Me Up has a new granola style energy bar with coffee. More to come on these soon!
Stay tuned for some great giveaways in the weeks to come! I promise I will share the majority of this haul.
What do you want to try most? What is your favorite candy or snack?
Please note: I was provided with samples at no cost in exchange for an honest review/mention. I was not otherwise compensated for this post. I received a free entry to the Sweets and Snacks show as a member of the “media.” All opinions are my own.