Mars Extends M&M's Crisp-ward; Toy Candy Surges Past Fad Status

Brandweek, June 29, 1998 by Mike Beirne

Mars is embarking on what could become a $40-million launch campaign for blue bagged M&M Crispy, a candy slightly bigger than a regular M&M with a rice cereal center, a shot at Nestle's Crunch franchise. Mars expects little cannibalization of plain and peanut M&M's as there is little crossover in those brands to begin with, said Richard Medar, director of trade development. Crispy ships in December, with a retail promo set for January.

The extension game has been a winner for the candy majors' core brands. Hershey Chocolate USA has hit big with Reese's Sticks, a wafer-based bar, so much that the company is laying low on promotion for the brand because demand since the bar's February rollout is exceeding the manufacturing capacity. That should improve by the start of the NFL season when Hershey folds Reese's Sticks into its NFL-themed $1 Million Kick, a two-year-old promo that gives a consumer a chance to kick a field goal at the Super Bowl.

The "toy" or "interactive" candy concept is not new (Pez introduced its famed toy candy-clips to the U.S. in 1952), but today, as was in evidence at the National Confectioners Association's Candy Expo last week in Chicago, the hybrid products are winning enough share to surpass fad status. Volume jumped between 11% and 15% in 1997, whereas overall candy sales rose 3%, according to Tom Prichard, general manager of Hasbro's Cap Candy unit, Bedford Heights, Ohio. Novelty candy accounted for $264 million of the industry's total $7.9 billion in sales, per the NCA.

Not bad, considering that breath fresheners, another fast growing segment, leaped 10.2% last year on the power of new intense mint product intros. Toy candy gives confectionery products a new way to package sweets and opens up more distribution channels. Retailers like FAO Schwarz, Kmart, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart and Target have opened stores within a store with dedicated space for spin pops, candy bubbles, and candy dispensers.

"Toy candy is a significant dollar market," said Greg Heanue, brand manager for Chupa Chups, whose lollipops are featured with Cap's Spin Pops, battery-powered handles shaped like Batman or Bugs Bunny that whir the candy inside the consumer's mouth. "It goes to the same channels in the trade as well as some new channels and increases the exposure of the brand and its distribution."

Cap also makes candy dispensers for M&M/Mars, such as the Dilbert Desktop Dispenser, where the press of a mouse makes the workplace hero turn his head and type on a keyboard until M&Ms tumble from his computer. Dilbert's retail price is $14.99, Spin Pops $3.99.

"It gives our product play value and refill value," said Richard Medwar, director of trade development for M&M/Mars. "Interactive toys are doing extremely well and make our products great for gift giving."

Cap also holds licenses for hot properties like the Rugrats and movies like Godzilla, Small Soldiers and A Bug's Life, and has a $10 lollipop in Sound Bites, a toy that sends sound vibrations through the pop into consumers' inner ears so they hear it inside their head. The latter product is available just in Cleveland, Chicago, New York. Minneapolis and San Francisco, but should go national by fall with a TV push starring Nickelodeon game show hosts Danny Tamberelli and Summer Sanders and Super Bowl MVP John Elway slated for back-to-school. And the biggest rollout of interactive candy yet will peg to the 1999 release of the new Star Wars movie, said Prichard. Cap intends to test the acceptance of Star Wars toy candy that will retail for as much as $25, and likely become a big adult collectible.

Cap admits it is testing price elasticity, but pushing the price points higher will scare industry buyers away from what is supposed to be an impulse item, said Jay Tapper, a Cap vet who coined the term "interactive candy" before founding Tapper Candies in Cleveland. Toy candy priced under $5 is ideal for outlets like drug stores, which have lost toy sales while candy sales there have climbed, said Tapper. His company is pushing the Spitter, a $3.99 toy bug that ejects Sweet Tarts through its mouth.

Though eschewing licenses, Poof Products, Plymouth, Mich., combines foam gliders, rocket blasters and sling shots with Sweet Tarts and Smarties. "It gives us another entry to the toy buyer," said national sales manager Michael Merlo. "If they don't buy our toys, we can say, 'How about candy?' which gives us another opportunity to say again, 'How about our toys?"'

Now you can pray with minty-fresh breath, courtesy of Testamints, a Christian breath mint dubbed ''mints with a message." Packaging its product with scripture verses printed on the wrapping, the Randolph, N.J., company by the same name distributes in 4,000 Christian book stores and a handful of coffee shops and promotes through Christian radio stations and media. The company made its debut at Candy Expo to gauge how the product would be accepted by a secular audience. Feedback has been positive, usually retailers that have a Christian at the helm tending to express interest, said Testamints president Bill Tilley. The company is also negotiating with Wal-Mart "Neutraceutical" candy? Yep. Happy Health Candies is rolling three lines: Fruitrients, made with fruit juice; Greenies, containing vegetable juice and antioxidantrich green tea extract; and Combatz, with immune system-boosters such as echinacea. Each piece has 45 calories and more Vitamin A, C, E, and fiber than a serving of a fruit or vegetable, F&F clai ms. Competition this fall comes from Ragold Inc.'s Juicefuls Plus, a hard candy with a soft center and 10 vitamins.