Candy & Snack Trends For 2020

The world of candy and snacks is always changing. Popular flavours change, and new ideas are around every corner. While I’m not clairvoyant about what the future has to hold for us snack lovers out there, I do have some ideas about what I think will be trendy over the next year or two.

More Vegan Foods/Candy

I think we're going to see more and more foods that are vegetable based, and I don't think this is going to stop with meat products. There are many candies and snacks that still use animal based ingredients, and I think this is going to go on the decline even more than it is already. I think it's going to be become the norm to use only vegetable based ingredients in candy and snacks in the future and I think this is going to be a big selling feature this year. There are so many vegetable based substitutes for the ingredients used today in candy and snacks already, so it only makes sense for those who haven’t switched yet to switch over in order to keep a growing number of people happy with their snacks.

Fewer Super Spicy Treats

I've never been a huge fan of super spicy foods. For the last few years I've been trying to improve my tolerance of spicy foods, but it's still something I'm not in love with. I'm even less in love with the idea of having spicy foods that are so spicy that it causes people to be sick. I know that some people enjoy challenging themselves, but I'm starting to think that most people are getting tired of pushing the limits.

More Crazy Flavoured Chips

The crazy chip trend is not new. It's been going strong for a few years now, and I think it's going to keep going strong. While I like to see almost any new and fun flavour of chips, I'm really enjoying the trend of taking flavours from other parts of the world and introducing them via chips. Not everyone can travel to Thailand to try some authentic Tom Yum soup, but now anybody can eat the chips.

More Limited Edition Treats

I think this year, much like last year, is going to be filled with limited edition versions of classic snacks and treats. I worry that many of these treat companies are running out of ideas, and the flavours are just weird for weird sake, but I don't think that's going to stop them from continuing to make these treats. I predict that not only are we going to see more strange flavours, but I think that this year we might see an increase in the new colours and looks of classic treats (so they can get the Instagram clicks).

Even More CBD Candy

It could be the circles of people I hang out with, or the fact that I’m Canadian, but I keep coming across articles about CBD products, and more relevantly CBD edibles. The reason there’s a boom in these products is legalization of marijuana in many parts of the world. Edible CBD products are not something that can always be made in someone’s basement, so with more places around the world legalizing marijuana, there are more markets to sell legally, and more places that high quality snack and candy companies can build legal factories to manufacture CBD infused candies. Right now, there are several small newer companies producing edibles, but I think in the next year or two we’re going to see larger companies like Hershey’s, Frito-Lays, or even Nestle getting into the CBD market.

Here are a few things I hope (but I'm not sure) will trend this year:

Black Licorice in Odd Places

Over the last few years I've come to discover that Northern Europe has been using black licorice is some odd ways. It's common (and delicious) to find black licorice with chocolate, and I've even tried black licorice potato chips. While I'm not a huge fan of black licorice most of the time, I've found that as a subtle flavour addition it sometimes works really well.

Asian Candy From More Diverse Places

I think we're going to see even more Asian candies, but not just from Japan. I'm hoping that this year we start to see candies from all over Asia, including places like India, Thailand, and Malaysia. While Japan and China seem to have a pretty strong hold on the international candy market, it'll be great to get a bit more variety from this part of the world.

Lesser Known European Chocolate Brands Going Global

There are a lot of European chocolate bars that are really popular in some European countries, but for some reason they just haven't gone global yet. I hope that this is the year that these brands expand, and we start to see Fazer all over the world.

CC

Tom's Look At The Visual Side Of Snacks And Candy - Hemp Hog

Hello again!

As some Candy Critic followers might be aware, Canada recently legalized marijuana. This package shows a cartoon Hedgehog with a relaxed expression, paws behind his head and perhaps laying in amongst some marijuana plants. The Vancouver chocolatier Rene Rey even chose to dub this hedgehog variant a “HempHog”. The package describes a “milk chocolate truffle with hemp nut cream filling.”  One of my co-workers commented that she steered clear of hemp products. That got me curious about what exactly a hemp nut is. A quick search revealed that a hemp nut is another term for hemp seed. It possesses extremely low levels of THC (one source said none at all) which is the psychoactive element of marijuana. It does have very high levels of plant-based protein, and low levels of carbs. In addition hemp nuts or seeds are rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids which are of beneficial for skin health, helping combat conditions such as rosacea, psoriasis and eczema.

As a bonus, the chocolate treat  is actually shaped to look like a hedgehog!

I can attest that it is delicious. I really should have tried a regular hedgehog, which was also available to see if there was a difference to the taste. Hmmm...

Tom

Make sure to follow Tom on Instagram to check out some of his other finds as well as to check out his amazing artwork. If you like his artwork you can pick up one of his exclusive Candy Critic t-shirts.

Why Would You Eat That?!! T-Shirt
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