Yes. Candy wonderlands do exist.
More than 450 different candy and snack makers from 75 different countries gathered at the 12th annual All Candy Expo, showcasing more than 2,000 new confectionary creations and snacks. With everything from the new gourmet line of M&Ms to endless samples of snack food, candy and chocolate, this was heaven.
Upon entering the showroom, I was given a small bag for samples. Because I was surrounded by middle-aged adults in business wear, I initially felt uncomfortable reaching for the free samples. But I soon saw the adults around me take five boxes of fudge and stuff them into their illegal, oversized bags. One woman tried to take an entire display.
Surveying the map, I decided to just head up and down the aisles, but I made the mistake of standing alone next to the Wrench Mints exhibit. The man at the booth though I was a buyer and gave me a 10-minute pitch about his mints and why they were shaped like wrenches. I learned my lesson after this and quickly perfected my grab-and-run technique.
As I walked down the aisles, I stuffed myself with chocolate-covered espresso beans and banana-pudding fudge. After sampling the new mint and raspberry M&M’s, I found myself in front of a freezer filled with ice cream. I literally felt like I was on a shopping spree in a candy store.
By this point, I knew I would never make it to every booth, so I wandered over to the Hershey’s exhibit, where I made a custom chocolate cupcake with pink frosting and Reese’s Pieces. Apparently, of the three Hershey’s stores in the country, only the Chicago one has a bakery where you can customize cupcakes. The cupcake was delicious but too rich, and I ended up feeling slightly nauseated.
But a little discomfort was not about to stop me. I went to have fondue and made my way into the “Gourmet Marketplace,” where I sampled high-end candy and snacks. However, after helping myself to multiple samples of Dale and Thomas’ popcorn and four bars of ChocoPod, a line of chocolate that pops in your mouth, I began feeling really queasy and forced myself to stop eating.
I ended my binge with some gum called Nutra-Trim, which promised to increase my metabolism and burn off calories. Although no one knows if it actually works, it made me feel better about continually eating candy for five hours.
Some of my favorite products:
Pop Rocks Chocolate
Candy companies such as Pop Rocks now create chocolate bars that combine Pop Rocks with milk chocolate. While the quality of chocolate is poor, it is still cool to experience mini explosions in your mouth.
Caffeinated everything
It’s almost finals, and that means endless nights of studying and binging on coffee and energy drinks. This year, companies have “energized” everything from mints , chewing gum, gummies and even sunflower seeds. Charms, the lollipop maker, and Jelly Belly also offers products filled with caffeine. Yum.
Although the companies claim these products are enhanced naturally with Guarana and other plants, their effectiveness has yet to be determined.
Fizzies
Fizzies reached their peak popularity in the 1960s, but Amerilab Technologies is bringing them back with new flavors. These Frizzies have 100 percent of your Vitamin C intake and, according to a representative from the company, the lemon-lime fizzies are “amazing” with vodka. Who said drinking was unhealthy?
Beer Chips and Beer Nuts
Although these products do not contain alcohol, a representative from the company said that he “envisions frat boys selling Beer Chips as fundraisers.” The chips come in three flavors: Original Beer, Margarita and Spicy Bloody Mary, and they are all delicious.
Unfortunately, the Candy Expo, which lasts through Thursday, is not open to the public, but ease your disappointment by knowing that many of these products will end up at a store near you in the future.