(717) 534-5465

An estimated 30 million Americans are restricting their carbohydrate intake. This strong interest in low-carb eating prompted Hershey Foods to introduce Hershey’s 1g Sugar Carb Bars in three flavors: chocolate candy, chocolate candy with almonds and chocolate candy with soy crisps. They will retail for about $1.19 to $1.49, and will begin shipping during the first quarter. Formulated with sugar alcohols and fiber in place of traditional sweeteners, the candy contains only 1 gram of sugar per 1.1-ounce bar, and contains about 20 percent fewer calories than regular Hershey’s milk chocolate bars. A full multi-media and in-store promotion campaign will support the brand.

(800) 638-6000

Modeled after the favorite classic toy monkeys that kids link together by their arms, Monkey Business Candy can also be linked into long chains. Like the toy, the candy comes in colorful barrel containers for added play value. Each barrel contains 28 grams, or 12 pieces, of multi-flavored dextrose candy monkeys. Flavors are Blastin’ Banana, Radical Blue Raspberry, Swinging Strawberry and Growling Green Apple. Case packs are 12/12-count. Suggested retail price is 99 cents and up. Candy will be available March 1, 2004.

(562) 946-8822

Flash Pops feature a generous stick of translucent hard candy mounted on top of a flashlight handle. Pushing the button on the handle illuminates the candy with a bright, color-coordinated glow. Each 38-gram Flash Pop comes with its own clip-on cap for prolonged enjoyment. Flavors are Radiant Strawberry, Glowing Green Apple and Beaming Blue Raspberry. Suggested retail price range is 99 cents to  $1.29.

(800) 533-0330

Farley’s & Sathers has acquired four classic gum brands that it introduces to its product line: Super Bubble, Fruit Stripe, Rain-Blo and Hot Dog! The brands were purchased from Hershey Foods.

Super Bubble chunk gum in original grape and apple flavors is available in 3- and 5-cent sizes in buckets, changemakers, peg and laydown bags. Buckets have a suggested retail price of $5.99 and ship six per case. Three- and 5-cent changemakers ship in 180- and 300-count displays. Six-ounce peg bags have a suggested retail price of $1.29 and ship 12 per case. Sixteen-ounce laydown bags ship 12 per case and have a suggested retail price of $1.99.

Fruit Stripe stick gum in 18-stick packs includes tattoos of the popular zebra “Yipes” on every wrapper. Offered in fruit and bubble gum flavors, it has a suggested retail price range of 79 cents to $1.09 and ships 172 per case.

Rain-Blo gumballs in assorted flavors, shapes and sizes are offered in peg bags, changemakers, jars, standard bars and cartons. Peg bags in 6- and 7-ounce sizes ship 12 per case and have a suggested retail price of $1.29. Changemakers with suggested retail prices of 5 and 10 cents ship in 48- and 425-count displays. Jars weigh 53 ounces, have a suggested retail price of $7.49 and are shipped six per case. Standard bars ship in 24- and 36-count displays and retail for 69 cents. Twenty-ounce cartons have a suggested retail price of $2.49 and ship 12 per case.

Hot Dog! cinnamon-flavored gum, shaped like a hot dog, comes in a 48-count display tray and retails at two for 25 cents.

(732) 951-8818

Au-some Candies describes Snerdles as a “fruit snack with a candy kick.” High in real fruit content and a source of Vitamin C, Snerdles Fun Candy Fruit Bites are suitable for school lunchboxes and snacks. Each fruit-shaped container holds 57 grams of orange, blue raspberry, strawberry and apple chips with sour yogurt coating.  Snerdles are available in a 12-count counter display box with a suggested retail price of 99 cents. In addition, Fruit Snerdles, a smaller version at 25.5 grams, is available in a 24-count counter display box with a suggested retail price of 50 cents.

(888) 211-5530

BestSweet Lites sugar-free hard candy, sweetened with Splenda, is available in Peppermint, Butterscotch and Fruit Medley (orange, lemon, cherry and strawberry). The 3.25-ounce bags have a suggested retail price of $1. They are available in a 72-count assorted shipper display, power panel, clipstrip and open stock.

(818) 360-7521

Malibu Toys uses cutting-edge technology to light up its Finger Lites Light-up Candy Rings from within with flashing lights. Flavors are lemon, green apple, cherry and orange. Shapes are rockets, ducks, stars, hearts and monkeys. Available nationwide, they have a suggested retail price of 99 cents.

(310) 396-4433

Two new candies linked to the upcoming Spiderman 2 movie sequel will be available for retail March 12, 2004, 16 weeks before the Sony Pictures movie release. Taste of Nature Inc. introduces 2.5-ounce Spiderman Cotton Candy, featuring three flavors in each package — pina colada, circus pink and blue raspberry — and a 9-month shelf life. It comes in a 24-count case and can be placed on clip strips by request. Display-ready cases are also available. The 3.5-ounce Spiderman Sour Gummi Mutant Spiders are available in open stock, 12-count and 30-count cases, 108-count floor shippers and 14-count counter display trays. The original Spiderman movie from 2002 grossed more than $800 million worldwide.

(800) 999-9808

One-ounce Unicorn Pops are offered in a new 48-count goods box featuring playful, brightly colored graphics. The box is suitable for counter display or regular shelf placement. Unicorn hard candy lollipops, a twisted rope of candy in bright yellow, orange, red, blue, green and lavender, have a suggested retail price of 55 cents.

(423) 843-0680

These bite-sized, dual action mints have a hard outer shell with a soft and chewy center that freshens breath in seconds while neutralizing mouth odors and keeping breath fresh for an extended period of time. Ultimints are available in three extreme flavors —
peppermint, cinnamon and
wintergreen — and have a suggested retail price of $1.99. The mints come in convenient, resealable and reusable “squeeze packs” that lock in product freshness. The product’s packaging and assurance of fresh breath for three hours helps to create a point of difference in the mint category.

(717) 534-5465

Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolates Filled with Caramel will be added to the company’s permanent products collection in April 2004, when they are scheduled to begin appearing on supermarket, drugstore and mass merchandiser shelves nationwide. A $12 million launch plan, which includes prime time television and print advertising,  consumer and trade promotions, in-store display and point-of-sale materials, will support the introduction. Print advertisements will appear in People, Entertainment Weekly and In Style. Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolates Filled with Caramel will be available in 9.2-, 12- and 21-ounce bags, retailing for $2.49, $2.99 and $4.99 respectively.

(866) 570-8800

Pop Rocks Bubble Gum combines original gum flavor Pop Rocks candy and soft gum pieces in the same package for added consumer value. Pop Rocks Bubble Gum has the same suggested retail price as Pop Rocks – 50 cents – but offers 12 percent more weight in each package. It ships 20 18-count display boxes per case.

(908) 301-1971

This liquid-filled breath mint expands its flavor offerings with the addition of cinnamon and Winter Burst. They are also available in original peppermint. Momints have a suggested retail price of $1.69 per package of 36 no-calorie mints. Tubes containing eight mints retail for 50 cents.

(510) 981-4042

Scharffen Berger introduces two artisan chocolates -– 82 percent Extra Dark Chocolate and 41 percent Milk Chocolate -- in 3-ounce bars and 5-gram squares. Dark Chocolate is made from a blend of Trinitario cacao beans and has flavor components of cherry and bitter almond with hints of black pepper and cinnamon. Milk Chocolate is made with organic milk and a special blend of dark chocolate. Low in sugar, it is creamy, with caramel and chocolate flavors. Suggested retail prices for the 5-gram milk chocolate bars are $6 for a 12-pack or 50 cents each and $4 each for 3-ounce bars. Dark chocolate retails at $7 for 12 5-gram bars, or 60 cents each, and $5 for a 3-ounce bar. Both are sold nationally at specialty stores and online.

(818) 360-7521

Following a 14-year hiatus, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon is back on television, and Malibu Toys introduces light up lollipops modeled after each character. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Flashin’ Lix are available in orange/lime (Michelangelo), green apple (Leonardo), grape (Donatello) and cherry (Raphael) plus lemon (Turtle Power!) varieties. Suggested retail price is $1.99.

(732) 951-8818

KLIK enthusiasts can now add Popeye, Olive Oyl and Brutus to their collections, with Au’Some’s introduction of Popeye 75th Anniversary KLIK Dispensers. Each refillable dispenser comes with one roll each of Smarties candy and the new Au’Some Bubble Gum Roll. Available in a 16/12-count display box, KLIKs have a suggested retail price of 99 cents. 

(877) 770-POPS

These bite-sized balls of chocolate are filled with intensely flavored fruit filling that is light and airy. Each bag contains a flavor assortment of cherry, grape, strawberry, watermelon, orange and Blue Raspberry. Suggested retail price is 59 cents.

(419) 636-4221

Spangler offers extra value through its 2004 Back-To-School Bonus Bags program, which includes: Dum Dum Pops in three sizes, Super Dum Dum Pops, Saf-T-Pops in two sizes, Saf-T-Pop Swirl, Circus Peanuts, Lemonhead and Atomic Fireball lollipops. All packages contain 10 percent more product at no extra cost. Packed 24 per case, Bonus Bags feature bright, colorful graphics.

(201) 678-9300

Gum Runners LLC partners with Wet Planet Beverages, makers of Jolt Cola, to introduce mint-flavored, ginseng- and guarana-enhanced Jolt Caffeine Energy Gum. The gum, which packs the caffeine boost of a cup of coffee, is being introduced nationally following two years of laboratory research and test marketing. The company cites scientific research showing that the physical act of chewing is one of the body’s primary repetitive functions that promotes alertness and combats fatigue. In addition, gum delivers its caffeine sublingually, or under the tongue, for a faster effect than coffee drinking provides.

(213) 749-3226

The new Adams & Brooks 36-ounce Fun Pops Party Bag is filled with Tweety Fruity and Taz Sour Fruit flavored lollipops. Party Bags are packed in everyday 12-count cases. For Halloween, this item is packed in a 12-count displayable case. The suggested retail price is $3.99.

(704) 664-4300

BestSweet is introducing Baskin-Robbins Sugar Free Sherbet Hard Candy with two-color candy pieces. A line extension of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream flavored Smooth & Creamy Hard Candy, this will be the first sherbet-flavored hard candy on the market. Packaged in three-ounce bags, Sugar Free Sherbet Hard Candy flavors include Fruit Punch, Orange, and Very Berry. Sugar Free Sour Sherbet Hard Candy flavors include X-treme Berry, Green Apple and Watermelon.  The candy has a suggested retail price of 99 cents to $1.19, line-priced with existing four-ounce sugar-based Baskin-Robbins Hard Candy and three-ounce Sugar Free Baskin-Robbins Hard Candy. Sherbets are available in a 72-count shipper display, 36-count trays, 72-count power panel and clipstrip, which comes two 12-count strips per case.

(203) 795-0531

Pez is introducing its Sesame Street Classic Dispenser assortment, which includes six new well known characters: Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, Elmo and Zoe. The assortment features a dispenser wrapped in a colorful, yet see-through poly bag with two rolls of Pez candy or in a themed blister card with three rolls of Pez candy. The poly bag is available in a 24-count counter display, shipping 12 per case or in a 144-count floor display shipper. The blister card ships 12 packs of six per case. The suggested retail price ranges from 99 cents per unit for a poly bag to $1.49 per unit for a blister card.

(704) 664-4300

BestSweeet Inc. is unveiling its new i.candy (Interactive Candy) brand, with the rollout of a series of fun and whimsical items including Sucker Punch Lollipops, Dippin’ Dolphin Pops and Bubble Gum Spy Notes. Sucker Punch Lollipops are a boxing glove-shaped sucker with a punch-action handle, available in super fruity flavors. The Dippin’ Dolphin Pops are dolphin-shaped suckers with a sour candy powder base, available in strawberry, green apple and blue raspberry flavors. The Bubble Gum Spy Notes are packaged in a briefcase-shaped container that includes two sheets each of green apple- and strawberry-flavored bubble gum, an edible spy pen, four top secret envelopes, and a pair of mini handcuffs.

‘The Zone’
In keeping with its top executives’ stated intention of moving Hershey into new product categories, the company has announced plans to roll out a line of nutrition bars formulated to match the requirements of the Zone Diet.

Slated for a third-quarter rollout, the bars will carry the "Dr. Sears Zone Approval" seal. Developed by nutrition expert Dr. Barry Sears, the Zone Diet strives to help individuals achieve optimal hormonal balance via good nutrition.

The new nutrition bars will be formulated to help stabilize blood sugar levels, which, according to Sears, is critical to controlling hunger and thus achieving a healthy weight.