SWEET TREATS Look out for innovation, fresh flavours, fun, indulgence and premium products in chocolate and confectionery this year. Healthy snacking and new confectionery products designed for enjoyment are among the trend predictions from the ISM team. They see a wide array of new products emerging across the globe, from crunchy cereal snacks to plant-based chocolates and fruit puzzles for children. ISM 2021 couldn’t take place this year due to the COVID pandemic, but the world’s largest trade fair for sweets and snacks still remains a central platform for industry innovations. This year, ISM offered its exhibitors the option to present their new products on an online database: https://bit.ly/2ZnLkzX. In addition to fresh, fruity taste experiences with natural colours and flavours, new products include organic cereal bites with sesame and sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. Crunchy cookies are filled with peanuts and hazelnuts and raw 20
FMCG BUSINESS - MARCH 2021
ingredients (such as dried berries, nuts or seeds) play an important role. There are also new snack-sized bars of dark chocolate with red berries and linseed or candied orange peel. Plant-based products are a big new trend, such as the recent launch of vegan KitKat. The focus is also on sustainable raw materials and sustainable packaging with less plastic, which often goes hand in hand with organic, vegan and vegetarian options, says the ISM team.
Lindt Chocolate Lindt continues to drive the innovation in the Boxed Chocolate category with a fantastic new product range in 2021. “Lindt Boxed Chocolates are growing at 10.2% $ value MAT in TKA to 24/1/21 (IRI),” says Senior Client Manager Ken Davis.
