This is my second All Candy Expo and even though the initial shock and awe has worn off I still can’t help but be amazed by the whole thing. It’s like Halloween for adults… they even give you a bag to go trick-or-treating with collect review samples of candy.

There is so much new candy coming, it’s amazing… here is a quick recap of some of the candy we saw/tasted/heard about today:

• Wrigley is introducing two new flavors of 5 Gum: Elixir (mouthwatering berry) and Lush (a crisp tropical flavor sensation)
• Jelly Belly has new Coldstone Creamery flavors of jellybeans
• New peanutty chocolate candy bar from Barton’s called NutJob
• Also from Barton’s come Fruit-A-Majigs made with real fruit
• Tootsie Pop Drops are back
• Mentos now makes gum in Red Fruit/Lime, Spearmint, and Peppermint flavors. Tried Red Fruit/Lime and it’s good (haven’t tasted the others yet)!
• Dale and Thomas is doing some great stuff with chocolate and popcorn. Tried some samples – man, they’re good!
• PEZ is now shipping chocolate PEZ. Same candy shape and texture, but chocolate flavored. Tastes just like a chocolate Tootsie Pop minus the Tootsie center.
• New Tootsie Pop flavor – pomegranate.
• Charms Maxxed Energy Pop – a lollipop with Ginseng, Guarana, Taurine & B-vitamins.
• From Annabelle: Rocky Road Supreme Mocha and Rocky Road Supreme Peanut Butter
• Loud Truck introduces orange Energy Gummies. They are tasty!
• Fererro introduces Tic Tac Chill in Exotic Cherry and Paradise Mint flavors. They’re a little larger than regular Tic Tacs and they are sugar-free (sweetened with Xylitol).
• Pnot Butter flavored (peanut-free) Sixlets: same Sixlets shape and size but with peanut butter flavored center (made from soy)
• Chuao has a new Chocopod called Firecracker: dark chocolate with chipotle chile, salt, and popping candy. AMAZING taste. Might be the best thing I’ve tried so far at the show.
• VE2 Energy Gum. VE2 Press Release
• Mars is bringing Premium M&M’s to the market in Raspberry Almond, Chocolate Almond, Triple Chocolate, Mocha, and Mint Chocolate flavors. Besides being beautiful with their metallic/pearlescent coating, the outer coating is NOT crunchy like normal M&Ms. I only tried one flavor so far but it was good.

Ok, that’s it for now. I have personal meetings with Wonka/Nestle, Hershey, Wrigley, and Mars in the next two days so lots of juicy details coming on their new products.

And… we’ll have loads of extra candy after the show – stay tuned for a giveaway of the extra candy here on the site soon.

To call the All Candy Expo large would be one of the understatements of the century. This place is massive. There are people, booths, candy, people, more candy, and even more people everywhere you turn. The whole thing is a bit overwhelming.

We started out the day by grouping together (safety in numbers!) and meeting quite a few of the folks Brian has cultivated contacts with over the years. I was quite impressed by how many people knew of our site and were eager to have us review new and/or established products from their lines.

One of the best things I tried today was a French mint flavored with real licorice (not anise) that was sooo smooth and good. I scored an awesome little tin of those and will definitely be getting a review up in the near future. I also managed to get some samples of the new Baskins Robbins soft candy, which I had been hoping to find. I even introduced myself to the Ganong Chocolates guy and was very pleased to see they had some new products to try – I loved their Fruitfull and now they’ve released a new product along the same lines.

I left feeling more than satisfied with my freebies, yet strangely drawn to my toothbrush. On the agenda tomorrow: a chocolate-themed luncheon and more schmoozing than my brain can quantify. As for tonight, I have pressing engagement with a soft pillow to attend to….

As you may or may not know, we’re at the All Candy Expo – a three-day Candy Addict’s dream come true. We’ve already posted a few candy press releases, but we plan on posting a bunch of articles and recaps of what we have seen each night. Stay tuned!