Susan Hallak and Ashley Reinsmith pay close attention to confectionery trends, such as the recent growth in hard candies.
Hallak is the founder and CEO of Candy Pros, a California-based distributor and manufacturer of ingredients for edibles, such as melt-and-pour gummy bases; Reinsmith is her right-hand woman, the company’s chief operating officer. They’ve spent their entire careers in the confectionery industry, transitioning 100% into cannabis in 2020, so they’re at the forefront when a category starts to gain momentum.
Two trends in particular stuck out to them in the last year: the sudden sales growth of hard candies and the steady rise in sugar-free products. Hard candy sales alone rose nearly 8% in 2023.
With mainstream confectionery trends typically bleeding over into the cannabis business, the Candy Pros executives see a big opportunity.
“I believe hard candies are going to be the next big thing,” Hallak says. “It’s always been gummy, gummy, gummy, but this hard candy trend is going to take on a whole life of its own, due to the need in the market. There’s a gaping hole.”
One of the reasons for anticipated growth is that older people are increasingly becoming cannabis consumers, often for medical uses, as they seek pain relief or a sleep aid. Sucking on a hard candy is easier on their teeth than chewing a gummy.
But there are a number of benefits with hard candies for consumers of all ages, both on the medical side and in the recreational sector, Hallak says. The sublingual administration allows a quicker release into the bloodstream and a more accurate expectation of effects than chewing a gummy and waiting for it to move through your digestive system. Another benefit is a long shelf life, and they’re easy to take on the go.
“They’re not going to melt into a blob and get all messy like traditional gummies get,” Reinsmith says.
A sugar-free version is key for consumers looking to improve their overall health, but also even more important with hard candies because sugar would damage people’s teeth while sucking on the candy.
“Additionally, what’s cool is if somebody is making gummies already, this will be really easy for them to introduce into their product line,” Hallak says. “There’s essentially no startup cost, outside of some R&D and new packaging, to expand their product line and have a more robust offering for their customers.”