Novelty candy is serious biz

Discount Store News, March 17, 1997 by Laura Liebeck

Novelty candy, the toy with the candy filling, is so hot these days that Hasbro, Yes Electronics and Imperial Toy Co., all toy manufacturers, forwarded inaugural lines at last month's Toy Fair.

In addition, Hasbro also announced that it planned to acquire Cap Toys, which operates a candy division that is best known for its spin pops.

After a successful launch in February, Imperial Toy presented its candy line at the Candy Show in San Antonio Feb. 28 to March 1.

Novelty candy has gained so much favor with candy manufacturers and retailers in recent years that the aisles of the show were filled with manufacturers presenting their versions of candy/toy products.

Novelty products are particularly appealing to buyers because the products can be cross-merchandised in food, toys and at checkout. The items also can carry higher margins than either toys (typically around 30%) or candy (about 40%), and kids love them.

Licensing has come to play a big roll in novelty candy, too, further augmenting the appeal of the products. Companies such as SweeTarts, M&M/Mars, Willy Wonka and Pez have enjoyed fruitful relationships with previously competitive companies in an effort to forge new territory in the field. These companies have expanded the appeal of their products by agreeing to have their candy as filling for items another manufacturer creates. Cap Toys, for example, offers Power Pez, Power Skittles and Power M&Ms, battery-powered candy dispensers that feature Pez or M&M/MARs, candies. Other popular fillings include Sweetarts, Tootsie Rolls and Smarties.

The new Hasbro Candy line, which hits retail shelves this spring, features Mr. Potato Head -- a license from sister company Playskool -- filled with candies and a $50 Monopoly money bill bubble gum. It will offer Jurassic Park candy in May, the first product in the line, to coincide with the release of "The Lost World, on Memorial Day weekend.

Yes Electronics, line, Handy Candy, features its popular Power Penz pen as a dispenser for Willy Wonka's Nerds and Jobstoppers, in addition to SweeTarts.

At the candy show, the Rugrats license turned up on Farley fruit snacks and a number of items from Amurol. Star Wars characters Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Yoda, Chewbacca and C-3PO were introduced as new Pez dispensers. Hershey has taken on the Jurassic Park: The Lost World license for products as diverse as Amazin Fruit and ?? ?? molded candy bars wrapped in a special green leafy wrapper. Other Jurassic Park-licensed goods by Hershey include Reese's Pieces dinosaur eggs, holographic bags featuring either Hersheys Kisses or Reese's miniatures, and candy tubes filled with Twizzlers or Kisses with dinosaur tops that double as squirters stampers or collectible connectables.

New to novelty candy in the mass market is Galerie Au Chocolat, previously a candy supplier to such to shelf Fifth Avenue and Macy's. President Richard Ross, who said opportunity abounds at mass debuted 50 noverlty candy items ranging from 99 cents to $14.99 retail, including bubble gum machines, candy-filled purses and backpacks and cuddly bears with a packet of sweets attached to their belly.

One of the most innovative new products at the show was Nestle Magic, a chocolate covered capsule with foil wrapper that contained one of 24 different Disney characters inside. Each toy has a unique feature, such as a vehicle that moves or a character's hair that changes color. The items will be available beginning in June and will retail for between 99 cents and $1.29, or for about $2.79 for a three pack. The line, in cooperation with Disney, is based on the popular Kinder Surprise novelty candy line in Germany.

Other novelty candy products introduced at the show included:

* The Foreign Candy Co.: The Original Surprise Bag, containing candy, toys and games for boys or girls in a bright yellow bag for 99 cents to $1.99;

* Confectionery & Novelty Design: four interactive items retailing for $2.99 or $4.99, including the Talking Candi Phone, Candi Piano, Candi Safe and Candi Light. Batteries help these toys come to life. For example, the flashlight works when filled with two "AA" bateries, and the handle is filled with 4 oz. of sour candies. The safe, which doubles as a bank, uses four "AA" batteries. Opening the safe requires a two-digit code. When successfully opened, a light flashes, victory music plays and then the safe lock resets itself. The wrong code gets a recorded laugh or a he-haw sound.

* Sunline: Hercules-licensed candy tubes that look like a plastic sword and are filled with 2.5 oz. of SweeTarts shaped like characters in the upcoming Disney movie. The topper, available in the form of either Hercules or his horse Pegasus, double as finger puppets.

* Cap Toys: Power Skittles, the newest product in the Power line, plus Bubble Tape, a tape dispenser that offers bubble gum, and Monster Mouth, a monster face attached to a plunger that, when pushed, forces the monster's tongue out;

* Imperial Toy Co.: a line of 20 skus priced from $1.99 to $4.99. The items include candy skill games such as basketball, filled with either gumballs or small candies.