Loacker showcased new flavors at this year’s ISM, including new Matcha-Green tea wafers.

Loacker will celebrate National Chocolate Day on Oct. 28 with the launch of Loackini.

Certainly there were plenty of traditional sweets for candy lovers to sample and enjoy. Still, it was clear that more fruit, more indulgent chocolate, more whimsy, more intensity, more color and more authenticity permeated the show displays.

Built in the same architectural style as its sister facility -- white facade, plenty of natural daylight, energy-saving enhancements, top-of-the-line processing and packaging equipment -- the new structure proved to be huge.

As Andreas Loacker, head of research and development for the company, subsequently pointed out to the guests in attendance, “This must be the biggest project Loacker has ever undertaken.

Last year, sales for the Auna di Sott, Italy-based wafer and chocolate specialisties company reached $350 million, about a 10 percent jump from 2011.

I realize it’s mid-February and the 2013 International Sweets & Biscuits Fair (ISM) has come and gone, but the conversations I had there continue to swirl about in my head. One of the more fascinating press conferences that was held during the show involved Barry Callebaut’s consumer trends data on chocolate