When you’ve got a brand as well established and revered as Brach’s, it is important to honor its heritage. After all, this is a name that has graced candy packaging and displays for 102 years. It’s just as critical, though, to keep pace with current consumer needs and expectations.

At least that is how marketers at Dallas-based Brach’s Confections see it.

“We want to grow the longstanding relationship that we have with our core consumers on our traditional products, as well as engage new consumers with brands, products and promotions that are relevant,” says Dara Sandland, senior director of marketing.

That translates into offering a broad array of time-tested confectionery items while also coming up with relevant new concepts and marketing strategies. On the product front, consider the following new entries.

100 Calorie Packs. Sized to fit the active lifestyles of today’s health-conscious consumers, six-count pouches of 100 Calorie Packs of Orchard Fruit® Tiny Gummi Bears, Mini Milk Chocolate Stars and Mini Dark Chocolate Stars will begin shipping in 2007. The mini versions of popular forms maintain their original flavor and look in portion-controlled servings.

Brach’s Gummi Plus™ with Electrolytes. Everyone needs to refuel now and then, and these energizing gummi fruits are packed with 120 mg of electrolytes to deliver real replenishment. Packaged in six-ounce hanging bags, flavors include lemon-lime, blue raspberry, orange, cherry, fruit punch and strawberry.

Pick-A-Mix. Celebrating the longstanding popularity of its Pick-A-Mix bulk candy, in January 2007, Brach’s is introducing a Pick-A-Mix laydown bag that features an assortment of the top-selling candies in the “mix.” Meanwhile, Brach’s will continue to use the brand name for its bulk candy business. With its Pick-A-Mix variety line, the company is the nation’s No. 1 supplier of bulk candy, and has been since 1958.

“In all, the Brach’s confectionery line, produced in state-of-the-art plants, numbers over 700 items,” says Scott Frey, Brach’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. It includes sugar confections, chocolate and fruit snacks for everyday as well as seasonal offerings.

Candy corn is one notable example of Brach’s seasonal success and also affords a great example of Brach’s focus on contemporary marketing initiatives. This fall, the company tied in with the Sony Pictures Animation movie release “Open Season” by featuring it on candy corn and fruit snack packaging and building a successful Website promotion around it.

“There’s more licensing excitement in the months ahead,” continues Frey. As part of a rotational SKU of movie tie-ins, Brach’s has extended its relationship with Sony Pictures Animation to include a fruit snack themed on the “Surf’s Up” movie to be released during summer 2007.

Whatever direction Brach’s chooses to go in the months and years ahead, marketers emphasize that it will stay true to the attributes reflected in its tagline, “Trusted quality, great taste.”

It’s hard to imagine two more important ingredients for success.