Exclusive: Primed for Indianapolis’s Sweets and Snacks Expo 2025
Engines are fully revved again for this year’s Indianapolis Sweets & Snacks Expo. Editor Neill Barston speaks to Carly Schildhaus of organising group, the National Confectioners Association, on what to expect for 2025’s major global showcase
As anyone who attended last year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo will have testified, there was a resounding sense of “Hoosier Hospitality” from Indianapolis’s highly welcoming city. While it was not in fact the first time the event had called in on the region, having done so during the pandemic period, the event’s return to Indiana was hailed a notable success.
With more than 16,000 visiting last year’s memorable gathering, and around 1,000 exhibitors drawn from regional businesses, as well as pavilions representing confectionery companies from around the world, it remains an eclectic extravaganza (watch our exclusive video preview below).
From inspirational young start-up enterprises proudly displaying their show debut product ranges, through to major brands and businesses including Mars, Mondelez, Hershey, Ferrero and Barry Callebaut, Pladis and Perfetti Van Melle, Lindt & Sprungli to name but a few, all offering their backing to the must-attend event.
So, a strong sense of anticipation surrounds this year’s iteration, which makes a reappearance in the famed location renowned for its Indy 500 race car heritage. The need for trackside speed will once again feature in proceedings, with attendees at this year’s show, being staged between 12-15 May, invited to the Indianapolis circuit as a roaring finale to the event.
Once again, proceedings for this year’s trade fair will begin with its traditional awards event, as well as the companion supplier showcase, which will see well over 130 businesses (an image below from last year’s event) across packaging, systems and ingredients markets display their latest developments.
Speaking exclusively to Confectionery Production, Carly Schildhaus, (pictured below), director of public affairs for the National Confectioners Association, which is behind the event, believed we were in for another highly memorable high octane confectionery ride in Indianapolis. She enthused: “Sweets & Snacks Expo is the ultimate destination for those making innovative new confectionery and snack products and those looking to discover the next big thing.
“We’re expecting more than 1,000 exhibitors from around the world at Sweets & Snacks this year, an estimated one-third of whom are first-timers. “With so many new flavour and product trends to spot at Sweets & Snacks Expo, it’s important to understand what consumers are looking for. In our latest State of Treating report, a few of the major findings centred around seasonal treats and non-chocolate candy,” noted Carly of the event, which has continued to thrive since its ambitious recent re-location from its long-term home
in Chicago, which is widely considered as the candy capital of the US. However, after a hugely successful spell of two decades in the “Windy city,” a decision to reach out to other areas of the region was made, with the show now on a split rotation between Indianapolis, and Las Vegas, which will form its desert backdrop next year.
As policy director Carly noted, the expo will form the prime place to gain an inside track on some of the year’s most prominent product trends. This includes a strong array of seasonal products marking the big four candy seasons. From Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and the Christmas period that account for 62 per cent of confectionery sales, there will be plenty of novelties, regional flavours, and fresh innovations on show.
Such factors are the very lifeblood of the sector, which delights in serving up new treats for consumers, with Sweets & Snacks Expo remaining the region’s most significant platform for launches and showcasing existing product portfolios. “As well as seasonal items, we have seen that non-chocolate candy has also exploded in popularity over the last five years.
Since 2019, the category has grown by nearly $5 billion – an increase of almost 70 per cent. Gen Z and Millennials are fuelling the momentum, so it will be interesting to see what products pop up at Sweets & Snacks that cater to younger generations’ preferences. ”By gathering our manufacturers, retailers, brokers, and suppliers together under one roof, we’re able to strengthen every link in the chain. As one example of how the show has continued to grow, the Supplier Showcase has become a dedicated platform for packaging, ingredients, equipment, and business service suppliers to forge meaningful relationships without splitting attendees’ attention.”
Educational elements
Moreover, as Carly observed, another highlight is the top-tier education programme offered at Sweets & Snacks. This will be focused on delivering content that addresses topics that are top-of-mind for attendees, so expect timely education sessions on regulatory developments, Gen Z’s favourite flavours, and more.
The event will also reflect on the State of Snacking and the State of Treating reports to level-set on the health of each category. As reported in this section, despite market tests from supply chains, as well as freshly introduced tariffs on imports to the US that are anticipated to push prices higher across the confectionery industry, the sector remains in a comparatively resilient state. Demonstrating this, the annual sales figures of $54 billion are up on last year, with ongoing projection for the sector to continue an upwards trajectory in the mid-term.
So, a warm welcome is once again expected in Indianapolis, which will also offer a host of networking opportunities for visitors from around the world, across the show’s varying elements. Carly concluded: “We’re also looking forward to some “only-in-Indy” experiences for the second year. Our Happy Hour at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – home of the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever – will again provide for casual networking over games, entertainment, and snacks. After the show closes, attendees will join us at Fast Track, where we’ll catch an Indianapolis 500 practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“The event is a one-stop shop to spot innovation across the confectionery and snacks industries. Its combination of business and camaraderie is a differentiator for Sweets & Snacks. Whether it’s on the show floor, at the Supplier Showcase, or at one of our special networking events, you’re sure to discover something new,” she enthused of the expo, which keeps on surpassing the expectations for its impact and dynamism for bringing the wider confectionery world together.
Supplier showcase returns bigger and better
WRH at the 2024 supplier showcase
Since its reintroduction to the Sweets & Snacks arena several years ago, the supplier showcase has been a considerably valuable element of the complete event.
As Confectionery Production found last year, the level of educational aspects to the show that were added to the two-day experience was especially strong. From speaking to a wide variety of businesses across, the short, but sharp sessions split across the afternoon of May 12 (1-5pm and the following morning), has proved a winning formula. The event, which features over 130 exhibitors, offers the chance to meet the innovators face-to-face while exploring the latest in packaging, ingredients, equipment, business services.
Notably, the supplier showcase has continued to expand in the past couple of years to include an education programme live at the event, alongside exhibitors. For the 2025 edition, there are now well over 100 companies participating right across the full value chain of the industry.
Making the trip to Indianapolis this year are companies including ingredients specialists Capol and Ingredion, to packaging businesses such as LoescPack, Bainbridge, Barrington and Multipond, as well as processing firms such as Heat and Control, Coperion, Latini and Sollich as key names for the sector.
Among those offering a showcase will be confectionery processing equipment specialists, IMA, at Booth 7228. The business addresses a wide range of processing and packaging needs with machines designed to handle gums, candies, coated sweets, and bars, from powder dosing to palletising. Significantly, it will be highlighting its new IMA Gima DWM600, a high-speed wrapping machine that processes stick packs containing gum pellets, mints, and pressed candies that are wrapped and packed on edge.
As the business explained, the hallmark of the new DWM600 is its unrivalled flexibility. Both single and double-wrap packaging are possible, the latter enhancing product conservation and quality, as well as providing convenient closure until final disposal. This flexibility is achieved through a wider range of adjustable sealing parameters, enabling precise settings for various packaging materials, including sustainable options like paper-based and 100% recyclable mono-material films.
Additionally, the DWM600 can handle a vast variety of pellet and tablet sizes, with counting capabilities from 4 to 16 and stick lengths up to 115 mm. All of these configurations can be easily and quickly adjusted.
British presence
From the UK, DT&G Ltd (below) will be returning to Indiana to place a spotlight on its chocolate coating systems, with the business enjoying export to the US for more than four decades. Under the guidance of managing director Lyn Pitt, the business, based in the Liverpool area, has gone from strength to strength, claiming an equipment award at the World Confectionery Conference last year.
Speaking recently to our magazine, she commented: “Our loyal and highly skilled team has been supplying and working with the sector for many years and understand all the challenges and changing trends. “They have travelled globally installing and training producers, from as far and wide as Japan to the US. Supplying turnkey solutions, we have taken the best of traditional engineering and incorporated advanced developments to showing commitment to our customers.”
For its part, WDS America Inc. is a subsidiary company of established manufacturer of confectionery machines Winkler und Dünnebier Süßwarenmaschinen GmbH (WDS) especially for the North American market.
At the Sweets & Snacks Supplier Showcase, it will be present at booth 7507, highlighting dedicated chocolate plant technology as well as turnkey jelly solutions with the Jelly Excellence Team (JET) – a partnership of the three European companies WDS, Pinco and Hänsel Processing.
Globally, WDS provides moulding plants for jellies and chocolates for decades. With the founding of WDS America Inc. The creation of a presence in North America and Canada has enabled notably shortened reaction times and domestic consulting that has significantly enhanced its capabilities in the region.
