First Take Licorice

The licorice category continues to balance time-honored flavors and products with trendy variances to classic flavors. The companies at the forefront of the category have skillfully and nimbly walked this tight rope line for a long time, offering two seemingly polar ends of the licorice category to equally polarized demographics of consumers. And yet they do it skillfully, continuing to draw new people into the category while retaining loyal followers and never alienating consumers.

“We are excited for the new year as we have significant innovation and investments planned behind all of our lines,” said David Liles, VP of Sales for DL Distribution. “While innovation and flavor extensions are important, and Darrell Lea will lean in on innovation, base licorice business remains an important part of the licorice category. Ensuring proper focus on the base business will help us and our retail partners continue to grow our business together. Finding the right balance between exiting and new is important to us and all our partners.”

“We will continue to focus on the low sugar/no sugar trend with our Wiley Wallaby 1g offering,” said Dustin Parker, Chief Growth Officer for KLN Family Brands, makers of Kenny's Candy.

“We are always looking at new flavor trends to capture, as new consumers enter the soft and chewy category, as well as securing a stronger position in low sugar and gluten-free areas with our launch of Very Berry 1G,” Steve Ornell, VP of Branded Sales for KLN Family Brands said.

“Like most other companies, we had to make many changes to adapt to the way the pandemic changed the world,” Creative Manager Andrea Doll with American Licorice Company said. “Our focus remains the same—understand, predict and fill consumer needs in licorice the category.”

Kenny’s Candy creates incremental growth within the licorice category and for its retailer partners because the company continues “to push the boundaries with innovation,” Parker said. “Throughout the past year we have expanded to eight licorice flavors, launched two new soft panned licorice candies which includes a sour offering and added a little ‘heat to the sweet’ with our new Hot Cinnamon Wiley Wallaby. We are providing limited time offerings that drive display activity at retail and impulse purchases with consumers. These unique program offerings from Wiley Wallaby have been very instrumental in driving incremental success with our retail partners.”

“Kenny’s Candy & Confections brings a depth of flavor profiles to the licorice category not being serviced by other licorice manufacturers typically focused on red and black,” Ornell said. “With more than eight flavor profiles to choose from, the customer can find their favorite, or explore new options.”

American Licorice Company recently engaged with its consumer base and demonstrated the company is listening to and applying their feedback. One such initiative was its Red Vines Wants YOU: To Name the Next Company Mascot! campaign that correlated with National Licorice Day.

"There are few things more exciting than seeing the creativity of our loyal candy fans," said Kristi Shafer, VP of Marketing. "While Red Vines has been around for over a hundred years, we're always looking for innovative ways to celebrate, and National Licorice Day couldn't be more perfect!"

Red Vines fans were invited to come up with the ideal name for the iconic brand’s new mascot. The contest winner was rewarded with bragging rights and a year’s worth of free candy.

“The premium licorice consumer is not the everyday licorice consumer,” Doll with American Licorice Company said. “The reasons behind the purchase of premium licorice is much different than the purchase for traditional licorice. Premium licorice is often a betterfor-you type licorice where shoppers are looking for the absence of certain artificial ingredients, sweeteners and GMOs. American Licorice Co. educates consumers through the messaging on packaging and promotes retail partners through shopper marketing tactics to build awareness and drive trial at the retail level. Our Red Vines Made Simple product line offers an alternative for the consumers looking for these types of products.”

Through scoping out potential trends and consumer preferences that will influence the direction of the licorice category, Darrell Lea foresees ample opportunity to blend tradition with unexpected flavor twists to keep the category relevant and vibrant.

“We see flavors and forms as a big opportunity within licorice,” Liles said. “While the tried-and-true flavors continue to be the lion’s share of sales, we believe there are opportunities to bring additional consumers into the licorice category by innovating behind items that resonate with the current consumer and bring in new licorice consumers.”

American Licorice Company is educating retailers and consumers on the fact there is room for premium licorice in all consumers’ diets including those who are opting for clean ingredients and limited amounts of carbohydrates. The sweet chewy treat is not something consumers have to swear off of while keeping with New Year’s resolutions to slim down and get healthier.

“Many consumers aren’t focused on restricting diets anymore, but instead focus on healthy lifestyle choices,” Doll said. “As more and more people adopt this new approach to diet and healthy eating, there is a place for premium licorice to be part of a balanced diet and an active lifestyle."

Having a strong identity and knowing what values the company stands for creates a sound environment to spur creativity and innovation at Darrell Lea.

“Darrell Lea Licorice built our business on cleaner labels and removing those ingredients that consumers do not want in their candy and snacks,” Liles said. “As consumers hit the reset on their snacking habits and focus on cleaner, healthier options, Darrell Lea can meet that need. Working with our retail partners to ensure consumers have that ‘healthier’ option is important. Additionally, as we bring additional innovation to the US, ensuring it meets a consumer need and want behind flavor profiles and forms is important to continue to grow the licorice category.”