Category Leadership Awards: Licorice

Leaders in licorice are striving to elevate the entire category.

“Licorice is a heritage category, and there’s real value in the craft knowledge that comes from making it well for a long time,” said Abby Huebsch, Chief Marketing Officer, KLN Family Brands, home of Kenny’s Candy. “However, heritage on its own just makes you good at what has already worked. The leaders are the ones pairing that depth with a willingness to move early on where the shopper is going. Clean color is the clearest example right now. The dye phase-out is technically voluntary, so plenty of brands are waiting to be forced. I think that’s backwards. The shopper has already decided, and the brands reformulating now—on their own terms, without a compliance deadline breathing down their neck—are the ones who’ll own the shelf when everyone else is playing catch-up.”

“Darrell Lea combines 99 years of confectionery expertise with a willingness to challenge what the category can be,” said Mario DeAngelis, General Manager, US with Darrell Lea. “We continue to build on the products and qualities consumers already trust, while introducing innovations that bring new shoppers and occasions into the category. A recent example is Real Twists, a better-for-you licorice innovation designed for consumers seeking a more permissible treat. Our innovation is grounded in consumer insight rather than novelty alone. We use our experience in licorice to identify where we can offer meaningful differentiation—through unexpected flavors, new formats, and cleaner ingredients. We then work closely with retail partners to tailor assortments and activation to their shoppers, ensuring our launches create incremental interest and category growth. This balance of proven expertise, bold product development and retailer collaboration enables Darrell Lea to lead the category forward while remaining unmistakably true to the brand.”

“The biggest opportunity in confectionery right now is clean color,” Huebsch said. “The FDA is pushing the industry to eliminate six petroleum-based dyes, and candy is one of the most dye-heavy categories there is. Red 40 alone sits in tens of thousands of products. That’s usually framed as a compliance headache. I see it as the single clearest growth lane in the category. Shoppers want candy they can feel good about handing their kids, and the moment you can offer that without giving up the vibrancy and taste that make candy fun, you’ve unlocked a buyer who’d been holding back.” 

“Darrell Lea is the number one Australian licorice brand globally and has a passionate, loyal following here in the US—but our most important work right now is converting shoppers who haven’t found us yet,” DeAngelis said. “Awareness and trial remain our primary challenge, and frankly it’s a crowded fight. We’re competing for shelf space, shopper attention, and share of a confectionery aisle that offers no shortage of choices. The good news is the product wins every time a consumer picks it up.”