The Global Candy Store

Given their rich confectionery tradition, its tempting to credit Europeans for the development of the modern confectionery industry. But most confectionery historians site candys cradle somewhere on the Indian subcontinent where, in roughly 500 B.C., the technology to press and crystallize juice from sugarcane first came under human control. Hindu texts as old as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, written between 600 B.C. and 200 A.D., even describe several pseudo candies.

Soon, cane-boiled sucrose became a hot commodity among traders, most notably ancient Persians, who spread it west to the Tigris and Euphrates valley. There, Arabs used it in confections that not only presaged contemporary candies but remain favorites to this day, such as the ethereal Turkish delight: a pistachio-studded cornstarch sweet scented with rosewater and dusted in a flurry of powdered sugar. Even marzipan, that über-European sweetened almond paste, traces its roots, as do most almond- based candies, to the Middle East.

Arabs eventually carried sugar and its attendant confections across North Africa and into Spain, Sicily and other Southern European outposts occupied during Islams 7th-century rise to power. But it was in the name of Christendom that sugary sweets first came to the attention of a wider Europe, as candies from the Holy Land returned with the Crusaders to Venice, the future hub of the European sugar trade. By the Elizabethan era, high-boiled candies were common throughout Europe.

Chocolates history is unique altogether, as it spent its first few millennia of existence as a beverage. That was the form in which 16th-century Spanish explorers encountered it in Aztec Mexico. But while members of Moctezumas court took their chocolate whipped to a froth and flavored with red pepper, vanilla and a form of cornmeal called atole, once Europeans got hold of the drink, they spiked it with almonds, cinnamon, milk, orange-blossom water and, of course, sugar. Not until 1828 did chocolate became practicable as a solid food when Dutchman Conrad van Houten designed a screw press capable of removing enough excess cocoa butter from ground beans to supplement back into ordinary cocoa, producing a paste more malleable, smoother, and more tolerant of added sugar than drinking-chocolate, writes author Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.

Birth of an industry 

Thus, a troika of trade, travel and technology helped catapult candy from its birth as a cottage creation to a treat ripe for mass production and distribution. And nowhere do we see this transition more than in 19th-century America, where the seeds of the global candy industry were sown. By the mid-1800s, from homemade confections, we were seeing more candies being made outside the home and sold in general stores as penny candy, says Susan Fussell, senior director of communications, National Confectioners Association, Vienna, VA. With candy a penny a pop, economically empowered industrial-age wage earners could finally afford what had heretofore been a luxury.

As favorable economics cultivated candys consumers, technology improved its quality. Everybody was benefiting from advances in technology, Fussell says. And in the case of chocolate, technology was the great liberator. Once you were able to make chocolate in a quick manner and distribute it quickly there was a lot more experimenting you could do, she says. So throughout the end of the 1800s and into the early 1900s, there were new candy bars being introduced all the time. That was when American candy manufacturers started experimenting with putting peanuts and almonds and raisins and caramel into their chocolates.

And according to Jordi Ferre, vice president, sales and marketing, Sucralose, Tate & Lyle, Decatur, IL, technology made chocolate accessible. Manufacturers such as M&M/Mars and Hershey created a manufacturing process that took chocolate, which had previously been a delicacy consumed in shops, to the masses, he says. Chocolate was soon to be sold everywhere in the form of candy bars.

Chocolate diplomacy 

Were still feeling the ripples of that revolution in todays increasingly global chocolate market. As Catherine Hogan, global marketing manager, sweet goods, International Flavors & Fragrances, Dayton, NJ, says, These global brands are spreading chocolate into other parts of the world that historically have not been large consumers of chocolate.

That such places even exist might strain the credulity of Western chocolate fiends. But until recently, fundamental factors excluded some regions from the rarefied club of chocolate-eating cultures. In Second and Third World countries, chocolate is expensive because the ingredients for chocolate are expensive, explains Robert Boutin, executive vice president and partner, Knechtel Research Sciences, Inc., Skokie, IL. Furthermore, he adds, standard-of-identity chocolate, with cocoa butter and chocolate liquor, requires specific, narrow environmental conditions for the preservation of its keeping qualitynamely, temperatures between 59°F and 63°F and a relative humidity below 50%. So, when you start talking about Africa and South America or even China, where temperatures can get into the 100s, he says, a chocolate bar will melt in three or four minutes. And that means air-conditioning and special handling, both of which, added to ingredient costs, drive prices too high for locals to bear.

Not only is such chocolate expensive, its not even that good. Because manufacturers in the developing world rely so heavily on nonlauric cocoa butter substitutes to stabilize their product, There are local chocolates that we here in the States would say taste like candle wax, Boutin says.

Joanne Kim, research and development scientist, Bell Flavors and Fragrances, Inc., Northbrook, IL, knows what he means. She recalls how, as a young girl in Korea, she anticipated her grandmothers visits from America because every time she would come, she would bring candy, Kim says. And we couldnt wait to open those Hersheys chocolate bars. For us, we were not used to chocolate, and if we did eat chocolate, it was very imitation chocolate. So this was very different. We would say, Oooh, American candy is so rich. They always use authentic ingredients, not cheap ones.

But far-flung chocolate fans can quit waiting for Grandmas candy care packages, as things are thankfully beginning to change. Trade liberalization and the international rise in purchasing power have spurred top-flight chocolate manufacturers to bring connoisseur-quality product to previously untapped markets, and Asia has been among the quickest to respond. Says Steve Laning, director of technical services, ADM Cocoa, Milwaukee, Consumption of chocolate is certainly growing in Asia. Ive read that the growth rate in Japan and China is on the order of 25% to 30%.While theyre starting from a low base of consumption, he admits, The pace of growth is impressive.

According to data from the World Confectionery Import and Export Handbook, Japan already ranks as chocolates sixth-largest retail market in the world. But its the sheer size of Chinas market that has manufacturers licking their chops. The magnitude of the Chinese market positions China as a critical place to establish brands that we know well but that are not yet known by most Chinese, Laning says. Granted, those brands will continue to play cat-and-mouse with a spate of counterfeit products for the time being, but brands like Cadbury, Hershey, Nestlé and Mars, to name a few, likely want to become as well established and respected in China as they are elsewhere, he says.

After colonizing China with chocolate, manufacturers might turn next to Russia, another of the fastest-growing chocolate markets right now, says Kristi Saitama, senior manager, international programs, Almond Board of California, Modesto. With more of an established candy tradition than China or Japan, Russia has a head start on its East Asian neighbors in fostering a market for chocolate. All the same, the climbing personal incomes and vogue for Western goods that have triggered chocolate fever in China are revving Russias engines, too. In the past, she says, consumers had limited disposable income and limited choices. But as incomes rise, theyre able to diversify their choices. Theyre looking for greater variety and greater quality in the chocolates theyre purchasing. So youre having growth both in the category overallincreasing the tonnage of chocolate usageand then in the increasing value of chocolate as you trade up in quality. And this is also a very good trend in terms of the usage of premium nuts, such as almonds.

Open-border policy 

Even with the globalization of the candy market, there remains concern that native confections are disappearing given the greater formulation, production, cost and marketing issues. Consider, for example, Thailands kanom sam kloe, pillowy balls of sesame seeds, coconut, mung beans and sugar, dipped in batter and deep-fried. Instead, most companies are tempted to stick with what they know and what their customers will like. Owen Parker, vice president, research and development, D.D. Williamson, Louisville, KY, observed, The overall candy shelf is starting to look the same around the world. But at the same time, he adds, I think that candies in the U.S. are starting to show a little more breadth and are absorbing some imported characteristics.

A diversifying populace, instantaneous access to global communications, and an increasingly affordable travel bug have all sent wayfarers searching for a taste of something different. Its so easy for anyone to go online and order the spices that are part of the cuisines that theyve experienced abroad, says Courtney LeDrew, marketing associate, Wilbur Chocolate, Lititz, PA. And theyre bringing those flavors here and cooking with them and sharing them with their friends. And with new international restaurants popping up all over, even in the Midwest where before youd typically see them in New York, L.A. and Miami, as Americans become more familiar with these flavors, chocolatiers and confectioners are running with them.

Kim has noticed a lot more confectionery with a heat sensation from chiles and with tamarind, because Hispanics are becoming a huge population everywhere, she says. And youre seeing more and more ginger candies coming out now because of interest in Thai food. Even Italian cuisine looks new in a confectionery context: LeDrew has tried chocolates laced with notes of olive oil, olive and Italian cheeses. These are influences that might make you think, Cheese and chocolate? Could that possibly be good? she says. And its actually wonderful. I can vouch for it.

Old habits die hard 

But are Americans ready for mozzarella bonbons? As Ferre points out, In an open and innovative country such as the U.S., candy is still one of the most conservative traditions. We may have given our wholesale approval to Mexican cuisine, for example, but Mexican candy is mostly confined to the actual Mexican population living in the U.S., he says.

About 65% of American candy bars have been around for more than 50 years, according to the National Confectioners Association, and these exert a strong pull on our tastes and our memories. Candy naturally evokes nostalgia; we all know the pique of discovering a change in a childhood confectionery favorite. So, advises Bonnie Gorder-Hinchey, vice president and director of culinary services, Hazelnut Council, Seattle, Weve got to keep our basic, nostalgic flavors that we know and love. Were not just going to jump into it and change everything.

Yet, she admits, The United States gets bored easily. Were always looking for new, unique flavors. The challenge for the creative candy developer is to square that circlekeeping our candy borders open enough to welcome fresh themes that reflect our changing populace, while avoiding causing offense to our entrenched expectations. The solution, experts agree, lies in recognizing the range, and the limits, of cultural taste preferences.

Its all about taste, Ferre says. Major taste differences among countries make candy unique from one culture to another.

A classic example is the Northern European phenomenon of salty black licorice. Says Hogan, Our opinion of licorice is that its very sweet and fruity. Its a sugar treat. But you go to some of the Nordic countries, or to Holland or Finland, and its extremely salty. Its not something we would consider to be a confectionery product to satisfy our sweet tooth. Finlands Fazer Fasu Pala bar may sport a chocolate coating on its layered stack of wafers and salty black licorice crème, but even that sop to our sensibilities wont convert many Americans. As Hogan says, Its most likely that a taste for licorice will never translate to this side of the pond.

On the other hand, consider cinnamon, which Americans welcome in their candies while most of the rest of the world doesnt. And although we may love banana flavor, Ferre points out that the tropical countries that grow the fruit show little patience for it as a candy profile. Cola is another anomaly: Nothing could be more American, Ferre says, but cola-flavored candies have never caught on here like they have in Europe. Even sweetnesspresumably candys common denominatordisplays a surprising degree of latitude globally.

Asian palates are not as sweet-oriented as Americans, observes Boutin, and Americans are not as sweet-oriented as South American and Mexican consumers. In Latin America, he says, we find their products to contain maybe 10% or 20% more sugar sweetening than we see in Americas. And when I take the American products to Asia, they immediately say, Wow, this product is too sweet.

Hispanicandy 

Its enough to make a confectioner feel like hes working in a minefield. For those at a loss to negotiate the competing interests, Latin America offers a case study in how a cultures culinary hallmarks can cross cultures successfully. Unlike East Asia, the Hispanic world has a flourishing homegrown confectionery industry with a market to match. Mexico alone spent $454.4 billion on candy in 2005, according to Datamonitor. And Mexicans, notes Ferre, hold some of the most curious candy records, such as the largest per capita lollipop consumption in the world: 80 lollipops per person per year.

Companies like Vero, De La Rosa, Grupo Lorena and La Corona, all concentrated in Mexicos candy capital, Guadalajara, boast bona fides impressive enough to attract the attention of Americas corporate confectionery giants. In 2004, Hershey, Hershey, PA, both acquired Grupo Lorena, makers of Pelon Pelo Rico soft tamarind candies, and introduced its Dulceria Thalia line, which targets Hispanic consumers with dulce de leche Kisses, tropical fruit and spicy Jolly Rancher lollipops, and Cajeta Elegancita, a chocolate-covered wafer bar sandwiching Mexican caramel. Several years earlier, Masterfoods USA, Hackettstown, NJ, attained its own Mexican candy group, the Monterrey-based Lucas, and by 2003 launched an interactive candy to raves in Latin America. Called Salsagheti, the treat consists of watermelon-flavored gummy straws coated in chile spice and packaged with a pouch of tamarind sauce to pour overtop.

Salsagheti seems tailor-made for American tweens eager to play with their food. But on a broader level, the candys dominant flavorscooling fruit, feisty spice and a touch of tropical tamarindbalance a sense of adventure with the familiar. Because tropical fruits are so adept at striking this balance, Fussell predicts that theyll become a fixture in mainstream American confectioneries, promising more mango, more papaya-flavored hard candies on the horizon. Again, Hershey has shown itself to be fast on the draw, adding piña colada, milk-chocolate passion fruit and white-chocolate key lime profiles to its traditional Almond Joy offerings. Hershey has unveiled the flavors for a limited-time- only launch, but, notes Hogan, they bring something new for consumers to try. Maybe if it sticks, thatll be a new addition to its line.

The combination of tropical fruit and spice is another trend that were really seeing, courtesy of the general Latinization of the nations palate, Hogan says. She wont go so far as to grant sweet-heat candies mainstream status just yet, but Who knows? she asks. It might just well be there someday. You see it in a lot more products and a lot more combinations. You see it in chocolate, and there are products out there that are already doing these kinds of line extensions to target American candy brands.

Wilbur Chocolate introduced Hot Coats, a line of confectionery coatings in chile, jalapeño and ginger profiles, to help confectioners do just that. These trans-fat free and naturally-flavored coating flakes require no tempering and are easy to melt, LeDrew says, so you can microwave it, melt it on the stove or in whatever equipment you use. Shes particularly impressed with the way they complement fruit. Its just so easy to dip dried pineapple, crystallized ginger, apricotsreally, any dried fruit into them, she says. And they also perk up chocolate-nut barks. You could even be a little more daring and pair them with other flavors and solid chocolates to lessen or intensify the flavor, she suggests.

Yet the Latin American candy profile enjoying the most stateside success is, in fact, not so much an import as a north-of-the-border favorite with a south-of-the-border accent: dulce de leche. By any other name, its just good-old caramel, so its warm reception hasnt surprised Hogan. In a lot of mainstream products, even classic brands, I think consumers just think, Okay, its dulce, she says. And thats because its a familiar flavor to us.

Workable worldwide flavors 

In fact, Hogan says, I dont know if there are truly any global flavors that havent already been considered in a lot of products in other parts of the world. But in terms of pleasing the American palate, her moneys on the extension of more tropical flavors: Were looking at the passion fruits, at the mangoes, and using those in confectionery. And Im talking mainstream confectionery.

Fruits, and not just the tropical imports, have always been reliable confectionery flavors worldwide, and each region appears to have its own preferences. Notes Boutin, In Europe, the fruit flavor profiles seem to be more complex, he says. Consumers gravitate toward subtler choices like pear, apricot and black currant, whose delicacy sophisticated palates can appreciate. By contrast, he says, In the States, because the kids want more impact, the flavors have gotten to where they have higher impact and are more pronounced. Anyone whos tried Juniors super-sour candies understands his point. This may be because the European market is skewed slightly higher in age than the U.S. market, he continues, or it might just flow from European candy prices. The Europeans spend more money on their products and, therefore, theyre more discriminating and selective in what theyre going to buy.

Candy developers might also take cues from global beverage trends, which play with flavors that bridge concepts as well as cultures. Parker looks at the popularity of Asias tapioca- pearl, or bubble, teas and sees plenty of fodder for new candy development in their creamy-sweet, caramelized flavors. Adds Jessica Jones-Dille, industry trend analyst, Wild Flavors Inc., Erlanger, KY, Functional teas and other beverage flavors are making their way into candies. Green tea, rooibos, yerba maté and other ingredients offer not only a distinctive concept appeal, but also unique flavor and functional properties.

Laning credits what we might call the Starbucks Effect for diffusing chocolates popularity worldwide. The beverage titans phenomenal growth, he says, has brought the mocha taste to millions. This success alone has helped to significantly fan the desire for and appreciation of the chocolate taste in emerging markets.

Herbal flavors are also migrating from beverages to candies. In the U.S., we are seeing a trend towards using traditional savory herbs in cocktailsboth alcoholic and non-alcoholic, says Jones-Dille. The incorporation of basil, sage, rosehips, etc. in beverages is a very upscale, fine-dining trend that is filtering down to packaged, RTD drinks and casual dining establishments. And globally, we are also seeing this trend in confectionery products.

Herbal candies might face some resistance from consumers who equate them with cough drops. But the profiles, Hogan says, are becoming more acceptable in products like chewing gum and confections in Europe, and shes bullish on their prospects here. When we look at some of the herbal and floral flavor types, she says, we see lavender and cream a lot. We see honeysuckle blending with fruit flavors that might be appealingthings that would blend well together and would let that particular product appeal to consumers. Even though herbal candy profiles deliberately appeal to those who want to try something new, she still advises developers to balance them with traditional anchor flavorsthe strawberries, oranges and sweet notes.

Balancing form, flavor 

While getting the right flavor is important, its only the first play in the game. You also have to understand what type of flavor it is, Kim says, what kind of solvent it has in it, and what type of application will bring out the best profile. For example, her company recently designed a selection of chocolates, truffles, hard candies and gummies that showcase up-and-coming international confectionery trends, and the effort was an object lesson in matching flavor to substrate. When developing the chocolates, Kim says, I tried to incorporate some of the stronger flavors, especially in the dark chocolate, because chocolate is such a strong base itself, she says. Sometimes, if we put in a subtle flavor, it didnt even show up in chocolate. Even at a high level, it just plateaued out. By matching strength with strength, her team came up with a ginger-citrus chocolate, one with woody notes of cardamom and Middle- Eastern spice, and two truffles with black-cherry and chile and jasmine-tea and plum profiles, respectively.

The gummies presented different formulation questions. By blending gelatin and pectin bases, the candies had the characteristic gummy texture but arent too hard to chew, she says. And we noticed that melon flavor came out really well in those gummy applications. They had to play with usage levels, acid levels and cook times, she notes, but a final target of 0.12% oil-soluble, artificial melon flavor with 0.8% citric acid did the trick.

Oil-soluble flavors are often her first choice for chocolates, gummies and hard candies because they tend not to flash off or evaporate when youre cooking them at high temperatures, she says. For example, they formulated their blackberry-passion fruit gummy with a flavor level of 0.015%, but its still a strong flavor because its oil-soluble. If we used, for example, a water-soluble flavor, it would never come through because were cooking at around 180°F. It would just flash off.

The lesson, she says, is that there are always a lot of formulation parameters we have to get right. But in the end, its all just sweet, yummy candy. As Boutin says, While there are a lot of nuances and there are a lot of ethnic or regional preferences, so many of these things cross borders. If you really look at candy in generalat the key flavors and key colorspeople are quite similar wherever in the world we are. It is a very small world, really, even a lot smaller than we think.

Kimberly J. Decker, a California-based technical writer, has a B.S. in Consumer Food Science with a minor in English from the University of California, Davis. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area. Contact her at

[email protected]. 

Chocolate Takes on a Luxury Accent

Not long ago, Joanne Kim, research and development scientist, Bell Flavors and Fragrances, Inc., Northbrook, IL, stopped by a wine shop to pick up a bottle for dinner. Nestled among the fine French and Italian vintages was a display of equally fine chocolates by Vosges Haut-Chocolat, the Chicago company that, along with a handful of other small, upscale chocolatiers, has effected a minor revolution in the way Americans eat chocolate. Recalling the confections marketing copy, Kim says, They made it into more of a wine descriptionthe way you taste it, the background notes, the flavor combinations, everything.

Its just another sign of the times. Americans have a deep-rooted weakness for this sort of Franco-European connoisseurship, and were beginning to apply it to all our luxury foods, whether they be wines, artisanal cheeses, gourmet oils or, as in this case, premium chocolates.

The finer chocolates and candies are associated with Europe, notes Bonnie Gorder-Hinchey, vice president and director of culinary services, Hazelnut Council, Seattle, which is where all of these trends seem to come out of. Shes had her eye on the Continents food culture since the 1990s, she says, and We had seen this trend for single-origin chocolates and actually pitched it to come over here, but the U.S. wasnt ready at that time.

Now, apparently, it is. Bitter-edged dark chocolates are challenging palates weaned on the sweetness of milk, and estate-grown beans that flaunt their terroirthe French concept that a food reflects the taste of the earth where it was grownhave turned the enjoyment of candy into something of an intellectual exercise. Basically, Gorder-Hinchey says, chocolate is going through what coffee went through 20 years ago.

Steve Laning, director of technical services, ADM Cocoa, Milwaukee, agrees. Our interest in chocolates is becoming deeper and more sophisticated, he says. North American kids still like theirs sweet and milky, he says, but consumption of dark chocolates by adults is growing rapidly here, as is consumption of certain varietal chocolates from countries of origin with interesting taste variations. Thats terroir in action.

Chocolate and cocoa arent just for candy anymore, Laning says. They are now being associated with good health, they represent an association with faraway places, they are a connection with preserving healthy rainforest environments, and they give us a little lift in a fast-paced world. It looks as if chocolate is finally getting the respect it deserves.

Salubrious Sweets: The Rising of the "Nutraceuticandy"

It might surprise contemporary confectionery fans to learn that candy--now a suspect in everything from tooth decay to obesity to hyperactivity--was once the stock-in-trade of the Medieval apothecary. But how many of us haven't sucked a throat lozenge as much for the pleasure as for the palliation? In fact, many candies trace their ancestry back to the time of the early pharmacopoeia, when Galenic physicians would administer cloves, cumin, horehound, and other healing herbs and spices in lozenges made of sugar and tree gums, like tragacanth and arabic. Licorice, marshmallows and elegant French dragees all arose from the era's materia medica, and some historians claim that comfits--sugar-coated nuts, seeds and fruit peels--precipitated today's chewable aspirins and vitamins. Even sugar itself was an oft-prescribed remedy, not only to help the medicine go down, but to act as a humoral physic.

So maybe it's not a stretch to claim that candy can be good for you. That's the principle behind the overseas market for "nutraceuticandies." "Functional foods are huge in Japan," says Catherine Hogan, global marketing manager, sweet goods, International Flavors & Fragrances, Dayton, NJ. "It's one of the leading countries in functional food development. And they're using a lot of ingredients that promote skin health, even in a lot of the confectionery products, where you're seeing antioxidants, collagen, aloe and flavors that promote skin-friendly benefits."

Kristi Saitama, senior manager, international programs, Almond Board of California, Modesto, adds that the Japanese interest in antioxidants dovetails with an emerging fashion for premium chocolates. "You see a lot more dark chocolates because of the polyphenols," she says. "And the combination of almonds, which are rich in antioxidant vitamin E, with the polyphenols in chocolate gives you a double-dose healthy chocolate." The smaller size of most Japanese candies--Saitama says that individual panned chocolates, such as chocolate-coated nuts, are the norm--helps justify the treats. "Because people aren't necessarily overeating chocolates," she explains, "the idea is that you can be healthy and enjoy them. It's a healthy indulgence."

Meanwhile, European confectioners look to the orchard and berry bush for a healthy halo, says Jessica Jones-Dille, industry trend analyst, Wild Flavors Inc., Erlanger, KY. "European confectioners are following the global trend of health and wellness by adding servings of fruit to confectionery products like gummy candies," she says. "These products can have soft jelly centers and also incorporate functional ingredients like L-carnitine, or be targeted to specific health trends like immunity or energy." She also sees fruit playing a role as both a flavor component and health additive in chocolates. "Chocolates incorporating fruit essences are a longstanding European product, but recently, chocolates are incorporating more fruit content in the form of fillings and crunchy inclusions."

Europe has taken the lead in sugar-free candies, too, which have historically gotten a better reception there than in the United States. Notes Jordi Ferre, vice president, sales and marketing, Sucralose, Tate & Lyle, Decatur, IL, "In the mid-'90s, sugar-free chewing gum already had 90% of the market in Europe, where, by comparison, it had 40% in the U.S. This trend has obviously changed in recent years, but the gap still exists in hard candy."

At Bell Flavors and Fragrances, Inc., Northbrook, IL, the R&D team has done its part to close that gap with a sugar-free hard candy they developed to feature the company's açaí and pomegranate flavors. Joanne Kim, a research and development scientist at Bell, chose isomalt and acesulfame-K as the sweeteners for their "very clean, neutral taste." With the buzz the two headlining fruits have received for their purported antioxidant benefits, it's no wonder Kim and her colleagues call the candy "Antioxidant Explosion." So have another, and feel good about it.