Doing good. Keeping it simple. Exceptional flavor. These were some of the common phrases heard across the Cradle of Aviation Museum as leading brands in specialty food showcased their latest innovations at the Nassau Candy 2025 Spring Show.

Let’s take a closer look at how brands at the show are embracing consumer food trends and the innovative products they’re bringing to market.

Consumers are in the mood to manage their mood. One of the ways they’re doing that is through food.  40% of consumers are interested in mood-based food experiences, with 37% looking for their snacks to aid with mood according to recent surveys (Food Dive).  While the focus on functional ingredients might be new, the items they’re turning to are tried and true foods we all know.  Set the mood for success by highlighting these better-for-you products.

Health and wellness are a big focus for 2022, and with that a renewed attention on snack bars. Early 2022 sales of snack bars/granola bars/clusters skyrocketed, totaling $6.77 billion (Food Business News). Consumers are working up an appetite for fun flavors and a filling meal and they want functional ingredients that fit within today’s dietary trends. Read on for the must-have ingredients certain to raise the bar of your snack selection.

Move over indulgences. A big trend for 2022 — low sugar. 45% of Americans named reducing their sugar intake as a top goal for 2022 (Food Business News). Even with the want for less sugar, consumers don’t want to give up the rich, decadent flavors they love. 70% even went as far to say taste trumps the amount of sugar per serving (Candy Industry). Help sweeten the deal and see sales skyrocket. Offer low sugar sweets and snacks bursting with phenomenal flavor.

Here are some of our favorite low sugar brands sure to satisfy their extravagant cravings.

2022 Healthy Food Trends

Getting healthy in the New Year healthy used to mean “diet time.” But “healthy” has a whole new definition in 2022. Along with it, what’s considered a healthy food. Consumers are taking a holistic approach, eyeing foods that help reduce the risk for chronic illness, reduce stress and achieve better sleep and mental health, as well as offer functional nutrients (Convenience Store News). Don’t worry — you don’t have to clear out your better-for-you section and start fresh. Simply highlight these key health trends, to keep your sales nice and healthy.

Keto is Killin’ It

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According to Convenience Store News, keto is one of the fastest growing terms, its appearance growing 63% on menus over this past year. Similar to Atkins, the Keto lifestyle focuses on

Clean is the word that’s on everyone’s lips. And it isn’t reserved for merely clean environments. They’re looking for clean labels too! In this case “clean” refers to a product’s ingredients. Here, simpler is better with 66% of consumers saying they’re looking for labels with the shortest ingredients list and 64% saying they try to eat foods with clean ingredients (Institute of Food Technologists).

Even during their search for clean and natural, consumers are not ready to give up the comforting snacks they love. That means your business has the potential to really clean up by including traditional snacks with clean ingredients in your selection.

No need to start researching clean and all natural brands. We’ll share some of our favorites with you!