Industry’s Sweet Solution for Uneasy Times : Candy: Manufacturers and sellers say that people may cut back on luxuries but that they still want to indulge in confectionary delights.
Normally, it’s a pretty sweet job.
But this year, U.S. candy makers and sellers are getting down to business like never before. As the industry gathers for a three-day trade show that opens today in Anaheim, there is a lot of concern about how the recession and war jitters will affect the national sweet tooth.
Industry officials say they are hoping an adage holds true: In times of trouble, people turn to chocolate for comfort.
“People may cut out movies or trips but they will treat themselves to this other little happiness in life,” said Spaulding Goetze, vice president of Goetze’s Candy Company Inc., which has been churning out caramel creams in Baltimore for 95 years.
As the aroma of chocolate and sawdust filled the air Wednesday, Goetze--the great-great-grandson of the company’s founder--was busy unpacking crates to get ready for the show. About 25 major candy manufacturers and 375 smaller companies are expected to attend the event, which is closed to the public.
Because of concern over the economy, some manufacturers have spent months wooing wholesalers to the show. And many are cutting back on expenses by leaving their families at home this year, said David Strachan, executive vice president of the National Candy Wholesalers Assn., the show’s sponsor.
One bright spot for the industry has been increased interest from major retail chains such as Kmart and Wal-Mart, which are attending the show, Strachan said. He said these and other retailers plan to use holiday candy displays to help lure customers in an otherwise sluggish retail environment.
“People come in because of the Valentine’s Day display, and they might pick up a bathroom scale as well,” Strachan said.
But the general retail slump is bound to take a bite out of candy sales, said A. G. Atwater, president of Amurol Products Co., an Illinois manufacturer of gum and candies.
“Ours is largely an impulse business, so if retailers are promoting less often, we’re not going to go unscathed,” he said. “Also, people tend to stay home more during hard times. If they’re not exposed to confectionery as often, then you have troubles.”
The trade show, which is usually held in California, opens this year on Valentine’s Day. A summer show is held east of the Mississippi each July.
Dick Einert, manager of sales administration for E.J. Brach Corp. of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., said the timing of the winter show has not been lost on his wife. For the past several years, the couple has celebrated Valentine’s Day on Feb. 7.
Brach, the nation’s third-largest candy company with projected sales of $600 million in 1991, hopes to drum up sales by appealing to customers’ patriotism. It is displaying a new line of hard candy with an American flag in the center.
The company sent boxes of the candy to Americans serving in the Persian Gulf and plans to sell them in retail outlets soon, said Thomas J. Snyder, senior vice president for Brach.
Snyder is optimistic about the future of candy sales. As health-conscious Americans give up other vices, like smoking and drinking, they may want to munch more candy.
“Our research shows people still have an oral fixation,” he said. “Candy will always be looked at as an OK indulgence if you’re doing other things right in your life. It’s a very affordable treat.”
