The State of the Industry Conference is designed to provide focused, actionable ideas to inspire the confectionery industry and delight confectionery shoppers.

During the National Confectioners Association (NCA)’s State of the Industry conference held in Miami Beach earlier this week, several industry leaders were honored. Yesterday, Tony Jacobs, president of Bazooka Candy Brands, a division of New York City-based Topps, received the Advocate of the Year award. On Monday, Krisanne Flamini, category manager for Wawa, Inc., and Barry Phillips, category manager for SpartanNash, were recipients of the NCA’s 2018 Confectionery Leadership Award.

Sometimes things just fall right into your lap. Here I was, mulling what I was going to pen for today’s column, when I get this email. Nowadays, of course, emails dictate the direction of our minutes and hours more often than not.

At this month’s State-of-the-Industry Conference organized by the National Confectioners Association, several speakers reinforced the health and wellness trend as it applies to confections and snacks. At an early morning supplier member meeting featuring executives from Mondelez International, it became clear that this multinational’s focus rests on “well-being snacks.”