So Peeled Snacks, in a fit of of genius, attended this year's Candy Show in Chicago.  "What?!?", you cry?  "But, Peeled Snacks ISN'T Candy".  Well THAT, my friend, is up for some serious debate, but luckily this year the planners of the "All Candy Expo" decided that they should rename the show "The Sweets and Snacks Show".  So foo on you.  We went, and we had a BLAST!

Picture, if you will, a very very large room, the size of maybe 2 football fields.  Now start filling that room with candy.   Throw in your candy-bar favorites, M&Ms and Snickers and what have you.  Add the seasonals, like peeps and Valentines Day hearts.  Make sure to add the weird niche candies, like Now & Laters and Mary Janes.  Top it off with gourmet chocolates and European "flavor candies".

And this year, add to it all your potato chips, your cheese curls, and, tucked into the gourmet section, the ONLY purveyor of healthy snacks, PEELED SNACKS!!!!  Hooray!!!!

Peeled Snacks really stood out nicely at the show, and it drummed up some nice business for us.  Frankly, it's a show that we should have done YEARS ago, since I essentially want Peeled Snacks to be an alternative to candy.  I know that we're never going to take down Snickers (don't even want to, really), but we want to give snackers the option of something a little healthier on occasion.

But all that's sweetened is not candy.  I personally don't really eat Candy.  Every year at Halloween I'll pick up a bag of something, but if any's left over after the trick r' treaters are done with it, I stow it away and MAYBE finish the last pieces by Spring (this year it took till April).  So at the show I probably ate 5 or 6 pieces of candy total, and spat at least 2 of those out.  That's mostly because I KNOW what sugar tastes like, and I don't like what it does to me.

But I also know what BRANDING looks, and I LOVE what THAT does to me.  Around our booth we held a competition to see who could find a: the most disgusting candy and b: the worst branding.  For the first column contestants included:

Peeps with goo on their insides

Licorice filled with chocolate

Chocolate sprinkled with Beef Jerkey

But the winner was: Gummies made from Fish Collagen!

So Fish Collagen offers a substantial source of protein, and everybody likes gummies, right?  So let's just put them together and kids will eat healthier candy, right?  Apparently this is big in Japan, but in Chicago it just tasted GROSS, and the branding accentuated the fish.  NO THANKS, too sickening, better luck next time...

As far as the worst branding goes, we have a 2-way tie for:

Toxic Waste Candy:

 and.....

Zombie Blood Energy Drink:

 Nuf said.  I'm glad I make what I make.  And NOT THAT.  Happy Snacking,

Peeled Skinny