Calling all sweet-tooths! Hard candy sales are up 19.8 percent over last year, seemingly marking strong post-pandemic growth. According to IRI, part of this growth is likely due to the increase in the average price per unit, which is $1.81. That is up 19 cents compared to a year ago.
According to Candy Industry, when it comes to specific brands, The Hershey Co.'s, Jolly Ranchers leads the category with $159 million in sales, up 22.4 percent compared to a year ago.
They are followed by Storck hard candy, which had $111.3 million in sales, up 10.3 percent compared to a year ago.
That's followed by Spangler, which had $77.5 million in sales, up 50.5 percent compared to a year ago.
After that is Tootsie Roll, with $76.1 million in sales, up 25.6 percent compared to a year ago.
Charms round out the Top 5 with $68 million in sales, up 30.4 percent compared to a year ago.
Sales of sugar-free diet candy showed growth as well. The category was up 13.8 percent compared to a year ago with $103.2 million in dollar sales. Here we also see the average price per unit was up compared to a year ago, reaching $2.79, up 29 cents compared to a year ago. Not including sugar-free chocolates, the top 5 sellers were sugar-free Storck which led the top brands in the sector, with $48.9 million in sales, up 5.2 percent compared to a year ago. Followed by Mars Wrigley's sugar-free Lifesavers, then The Hershey Co.'s sugar-free Jolly Ranchers, coming in fourth was the Ferrara Candy Co.'s sugar-free Brach’s and while it’s not classified as hard candy, rounding out the Top 5 non-chocolate sugar-free brands was The Hershey Co.'s sugar-free Twizzlers, with $3 million in sales, up a massive 534 percent compared to a year ago. While a price per unit increase likely contributed to the growth, it was only a modest increase comparatively. IRI data shows sugar-free Twizzlers price per unit was up 15 cents to $2.38
Nostalgia also played a large role in the hard candy sector over the last year.
One of the launches that got the most social media attention was the re-launch of the Creme Savers brand. Iconic Candy partnered with Mars Wrigley on the launch, and the story was widely shared on Twitter and other platforms. Fans had missed the iconic red-and-white swirled Strawberries & Creme hard candies, and Mars Wrigley and Iconic Candy were listening. During its heyday, Creme Savers hard candies came in many fruit, tropical, and dessert-inspired varieties.
"This revival comes during a time when consumers yearn for a return to simpler and happier times," Iconic Candy said when the re-launch was announced.
