Tradeshow Coverage: Sweets & Snacks Expo Takeaways

The 2026 Sweets & Snacks Expo concluded its successful debut in Las Vegas, uniting the international confectionery and snack industries for four days of innovation, networking and business growth at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

Organized by the National Confectioners Association, Sweets & Snacks attracted 17,500 registrants and 1,000 exhibitors, highlighting the newest confectionery and snack products and providing a glimpse into the consumer trends influencing the category’s future. 

“Bringing Sweets & Snacks to Las Vegas for the first time created a unique opportunity to showcase the bold innovation, creativity, and momentum driving the confectionery and snack industries in a city known globally for its energy,” John Downs, President and CEO of the National Confectioners Association said. “We brought Vegas-level excitement to every part of the event, with robust education, dynamic networking, and breakthrough products that reinforced why Sweets & Snacks Expo remains the industry’s premier event.” 

 This year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo drew a staggering crowd, and Mark Eisenberg, President of My Favorite Company, believes it boils down to one vital reason: “The location,” he said. “Location, location, location.” 

Rotten Candy CEO Michael Fisher agreed. “The move to Las Vegas definitely brought a huge level of excitement and entertainment that naturally drew people in, but beyond the location, there is simply an incredible surge in industry innovation right now,” Fisher said. “You could really see that reflected in the Most Innovative New Product Awards (MINPA) program, which had its highest number of entries ever this year. Buyers and retailers are eager to see what’s next, and Vegas was the perfect, high-energy backdrop for it.” 

My Favorite Company’s new Perfect Man football edition filled with premium peanut butter drew attendees to their booth. “It was huge for us at the show,” Eisenberg said. “The Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day in 2027 are on the same day for the first time ever. Retailers loved how we combined our social media hit—Perfect Man—with football for Valentine’s Day. The other huge hit at the show was our new white chocolate matcha strawberry line for both Valentines and Easter 2027.”

“Our booth was buzzing over the launch of our two newest product formats: Tiniez and Chewerz,” Rotten Candy’s Fisher said. “Both feature 11g of protein per serving, which really caught people’s attention, but the absolute highlight was our Sour Tiniez winning the MINPA award for Most Innovative New Product in the non-chocolate category! Ultimately, we want visitors to walk away knowing that we are pushing the envelope and delivering better-for-you snacks without compromising on bold flavors and fun experiences.”

During the Expo, Eisenberg took notice of how people are increasingly drawn to confections and snacks with unique surfaces. “There were lots of new items with interesting textures,” he said. “Consumers are looking for unusual tastes and unusual textures to try.”

“I was really struck by how people are playing around with texture mash-ups in such exciting ways,” Fisher said. “We are definitely seeing consumers crave these multi-textural experiences. It’s a massive trend right now, largely because these highly visual, sensory-driven formats play incredibly well on platforms like TikTok. It’s all about creating a snack that is as fun to share online as it is to eat.”

The conversations amongst exhibitors and attendees, along with the innovative developments showcased at the Expo, can have a major influence on, and significantly shape the direction manufacturers take in the near future.

My Favorite Company, for example, has plans to roll out additional one-of-a-kind flavors and textures later this year. “We are adding even more unique flavor and texture combinations to our line for 2027,” Eisenberg said. “Next year, we plan on introducing our new Perfect Man World Tour. In addition to the popular Perfect Man Dubai style, we will be introducing the Perfect Man in new flavor profiles representing different regions and flavors of the world.”

“The biggest takeaway is that consumers have an insatiable appetite for innovation and newness,” Fisher with Rotten Candy said. “Seeing the sheer volume of creativity at the show is an exciting push for all of us as brands and manufacturers. It proves that the market rewards bold ideas, and it definitely inspires us to continue taking risks, being creative, and pushing the boundaries in our future product developments.”

Attendees echoed the sense of excitement, noting that the Expo offered a valuable new location for connection, discovery and future business development. “Overall, I thought the Expo was great,” shared Cate Campisi, who oversees seasonal, premium, better-for-you and international strategies for candy and gum at Amazon. “I appreciated being in a setting that allowed for mass engagement in my current vendors and potential of bringing new vendors into our 1P Amazon world.” 

Taking into consideration the categories Campisi oversees, “The Expo provided me the ability to find vendors that fit those four different strategies to further build mine out,” she said, referring to the seasonal, premium, better-for-you and international strategies. “I was able to engage with six new premium vendors, five new better-for-you vendors, five new international vendors and two new vendors that don’t fit any of those profiles, but we’d still be interested in bringing them on.”

Having the chance to get in front of higher-level executives made a lasting impression on Campisi as well. “Meeting with CEOs was a fantastic opportunity—I thought it was great they showed up to the event,” she said. “They are ultimately decision makers in many of the pieces that Amazon pitches to vendors, so having the ability to connect with many of them throughout the Expo duration was not only great for business, but allowed me to do so in one setting.”

Other notable successes from her time at the Expo were the new location and candy and gum’s emerging presence. “I loved being in Vegas for the event,” Campisi said. “Candy and gum definitely took over the Expo, I didn’t see nearly the same number of snacks vendors on the floor.”

Unsurprisingly, protein, spices, and dill pickle snacking innovation took center stage at the Expo, noted Jim Wilt with Mid-States Distributing. As for the impact attending the Expo could have on his immediate business objectives, the tradeshow presents Wilt with an opportunity to calibrate and ensure he’s keeping tabs on what’s trending. “Using the show mostly as an opportunity to review new trending brands and concepts,” he said. “I also utilized the QR codes heavily to add items of interest to my planner so I can follow up.”

The surge of protein-packed candy and snacks caught the attention of Edward Kerrigan with Circle K as well. “Protein and functional candy and snacks are here to stay, be it in protein bars, protein Pop-Tarts, protein donuts, and protein jellies,” he said. “I also thought there were some interesting cross-overs—specifically when it comes to flavor delivery and texture. A good example is ‘Gummy Gum’ from Perfetti van Melle under the Bubbilicious brand; this product is a combination of a jelly with real fruit inside a bubble gum—so the consumer experiences a multi-flavor and texture experience.”

As for how the show experience will impact future developments, “It will influence what innovation or new items we bring into our business in the second half of 2026 and certainly in 2027,” Kerrigan said.

Even though this was Kerrigan’s first time at Sweets & Snacks, it wasn’t his first tradeshow at the Las Vegas Convention Center. “What I really liked about Sweets & Snacks was the show was concentrated in one of the halls—there was less time spent in walking around and more time having quality conversations with vendors,” he explained.

Alexis Maris with Casey’s General Store took notice of the surge of products highlighting protein (functional benefits); nostalgia; global flavors (Asian/Hispanic influence); Swedish Gummies. By attending each year, the experience, “Validates assortments are covering all trends, connects with up-and-coming suppliers to test; pre-work for annual updates,” Maris said.

This year’s new venue was a win. “I liked the Vegas location for hotel and restaurant options—great opportunities to connect with vendors and easy logistically. Prefer Vegas over Chicago and Indy,” Maris said. 

Drew Jenkins with The Fresh Market takes advantage of the opportunities the Expo presents. “I attend this show to see the latest trends for product development in private label,” he said. “Always great to meet with current vendors at this show to see latest product offerings. I plan to execute several new lines of products in private label from this show.”

The energy on the show floor was hard to miss, and companies like Venus Brands used the moment to showcase new products, refreshed packaging and a broader evolution of the company’s identity.

“It’s an exciting time in the industry. Consumers and brands are rallying around new trends, and there’s real transformation happening across the space. Anytime you bring together brands, buyers, sellers, and partners in a moment this dynamic, the energy is going to be high. For us specifically, we came in with a lot of momentum, including new products, new packaging, and a brand evolution from Venus Wafers to Venus Brands that’s genuinely gotten people excited about where we’re headed,” said Ahmad Islam, CMO of Venus Brands.

Candy Dynamics was celebrating the 25th anniversary of Toxic Waste at the show, and the company was thrilled to add a product launch to the excitement in Las Vegas. “We decided to launch a new version of the product that started it all: the Toxic Waste Yellow Drum. This new 25th Anniversary drum is available in a silver color with flavors from Toxic Waste drums from around the world. In addition to this, we released a line extension of Slime Lickers that capitalizes on the trend of mystery items. The Mystery Slime Licker engages the consumer by asking them to guess the flavor and share to social media, further engaging the sour community,” said Haley Peyron, Marketing Manager of Candy Dynamics. 

Katie Cocklin, Founder of Chunk Nibbles, thought the energy and the conversations felt different at the Expo this year. “Consumers are snacking more intentionally, retailers are hunting for products that actually move, and brands are under pressure to stand out fast. The show drew such a big crowd because everyone in the industry is looking for the next snack that checks multiple boxes at once: craveable, differentiated, premium, convenient, and still approachable for everyday shoppers. The ‘better-for-you’ conversation is still important, but people also want snacks that are fun again. That balance was everywhere this year,” said Cocklin.

She continued, “At the Chunk Nibbles booth, the biggest traffic drivers were definitely our clusters themselves, especially the texture and indulgent flavor profile. We had many conversations about how our products fit naturally into deli and grab-and-go sections while still delivering premium snack appeal.”

Islam of Venus Brands was glad the company’s Mariner Snack Crackers generated a lot of attention. “The new packaging really stopped people. But honestly, it was the full picture: the South Shore puff snacks, the flavors we’re bringing to market, and the story of what Venus Brands is becoming. We want people to walk away knowing we’re not just evolving, but we’re doing something genuinely exciting in this space. Existing customers are re-energized. New customers are paying attention. That’s the takeaway we wanted,” he reported. 

While Islam mentioned that “protein is everywhere, and that’s impossible to miss,” he also shared his philosophy when it comes to trends. “I think about trends through the lens of trends versus transformations. Trends come and go. Transformations reshape the industry long-term. What I found compelling at this show were the signals that point toward lasting shifts in what consumers are demanding, in how products are being built, and in where the category is going. Those are the things worth following.”

In candy, the surprising trend wasn’t protein, but pickle. Peyron of Candy Dynamics noted, “As we have seen for the past couple of years, dill pickle remains a strong flavor profile in snacks. What was surprising was just how many confectionery companies are capitalizing on the trend.”

Cocklin of Chunk Nibbles commented, “One thing that stood out was how much retailers and distributors are prioritizing products with strong merchandising flexibility. There’s growing interest in items that can succeed beyond the traditional snack aisle—deli, front-end, grab-and-go, club, and even foodservice crossover opportunities all came up repeatedly in conversations.”

While innovation remained a major focus of the show, exhibitors also emphasized that success in today’s market depends on strong relationships. “The connections. That’s what these shows are really for! Building the relationships you can only build in person. For us, it reinforced our commitment to pushing the envelope on product innovation, expanding the diversity of our portfolio, and finding the right partners to help us be more efficient, more effective, and more impactful for our retail customers and for consumers,” shared Islam.

Peyron of Candy Dynamics spoke to retailer partnerships. “Retailers not only want to make their store a destination, but they are looking to create experiences inside once the consumer enters the door. Many retailers are starting to put more stake in their candy aisle with the goal of drawing shoppers there on curiosity alone and increasing impulse sales with a unique product selection.”

“Retailers want partners that understand velocity, promotions, distribution efficiency, and shopper behavior,” noted Cocklin of Chunk Nibbles. “Coming out of the show, we’re even more focused on expanding strategic retail partnerships, leaning into high-visibility merchandising opportunities, and continuing to build a brand that consumers actively seek out instead of simply discovering by accident.” 

The Expo’s Las Vegas debut made clear that the candy and snack industries are driving excitement through protein-packed products, global flavors and innovative formats. The brands that stand out will be the ones that keep that energy alive by giving consumers something new to discover while building the retail relationships that help turn curiosity into repeat purchases.