Every May, independent chocolatiers, mom-and-pop confectioners, aspiring millennial sweetmakers, grizzled jerky manufacturers, plucky fudge entrepreneurs, industrialized candy companies, and health-conscious snack producers fill two massive halls in McCormick Place for the annual Sweets & Snacks Expo. If you daydream about candy, chips, and small edibles best consumed between meals, this three-day event can be heaven. It’s an opportunity for those in the industry (and a few that report on it) to learn about what trends will dominate the snack world for the next year and who has come up with an ingenious new twist on, say, pretzels. It’s the place you go to try snacks you’d have never dreamed up yourself, often before those treats are available to the rest of the public.
LG: Ha! Well, I’m just happy I got to explore some of it with you. When I’m there by myself, I tend to get swept up in the madness of strangers passing out full bars of candy I’ve never seen.
AL: I guess you have to do something to stand out from the rest. I mean, what more can you possibly do with potato chips and chocolate bars? The form is pretty much set. The only thing you can really do is experiment with different flavors. Or try to convince people to buy it because it’s healthy. That seems just silly to me, though. I’d just work on making them taste better.
LG: I think, well, having crap around made it easier to respond to what I liked.
AL: The ruby chocolate was not good.
LG: Yes! That was fascinating. I do enjoy hearing the stories behind the snacks, though sometimes I just wanted to try a snack without having to talk to anyone.
