Nearly 500 products entered—the largest field in program history
In Las Vegas, the confectionery and snack industries gathered to honor their most inventive minds, marking a record-breaking year in which nearly 500 products competed for recognition — the largest field in the program's history. The National Confectioners Association used the moment not only to crown winners but to reimagine the awards themselves, retiring old categories in favor of two new honors that acknowledge innovation as something that looks different depending on who is doing it. In a $55 billion industry, the question of which ideas deserve celebration is never merely ceremonial — it shapes what reaches shelves, and ultimately, what people reach for.
- A record 500 entries signals that manufacturers across the industry are betting heavily on novelty rather than retreating to safe, familiar formulas.
- The retirement of legacy award categories created an opening — and an obligation — to define what innovation actually means in a market pulled in multiple directions at once.
- Two new honors, Trailblazer and Powerhouse, attempt to hold two truths simultaneously: that disruptive startups and resource-rich incumbents are both reshaping the category, just differently.
- Winners ranging from beauty-functional popcorn to Cinnabon-flavored bacon jerky reveal no single dominant trend — brands are pursuing flavor fusion, gourmet positioning, and functional benefits all at once.
- The Featured Product Showcase opening May 19th turns these awards into a live market signal, telling retailers and consumers alike which innovations are worth their attention.
Las Vegas marked a turning point for the confectionery and snack industries on May 18th, as the Sweets & Snacks Expo announced the winners of its Most Innovative New Product Awards — and quietly redefined what those awards are meant to measure. Nearly 500 products entered this year, the largest field the program has ever seen, a number that suggests manufacturers are investing in new ideas rather than consolidating around proven formulas.
The National Confectioners Association retired its old Best in Show and Small Business Innovator categories, replacing them with two new top honors. The Powerhouse Award recognizes high-impact launches from established brands; the Trailblazer Award spotlights disruptive thinking from emerging companies. NCA president John Downs framed the shift as a response to how innovation is actually happening now — across two distinct tracks that the old structure could no longer adequately capture.
The winners reflect an industry pulling in several directions at once. CandyRific's WARHEADS Loud Mouth Bites took the candy Powerhouse honor, while Issei's dark chocolate-covered cherry Mochi Gummies won the Trailblazer slot. On the snack side, Hershey's Dot's Snack Mix claimed Powerhouse, and Belle's Gourmet Popcorn's beauty-focused Raspberry Rose offering won as a Trailblazer. Across 16 categories, the full winner list reads as a catalog of experimentation: Nutella ice cream cones, everything bagel pretzels, Cinnabon-flavored bacon jerky, and Cholula hot sauce tortilla chips all earned recognition.
No single trend dominates the picture. Gourmet plays sit alongside functional products; nostalgia-driven mashups share space with straightforward flavor innovations. For an industry generating $55 billion in annual retail sales, the awards function as a directional signal — a public declaration of which ideas deserve shelf space and consumer attention. The record entry count and restructured categories together suggest that the conversation about what innovation means in candy and snacks is itself still very much in motion.
Las Vegas hosted the announcement of the 2026 Sweets & Snacks Expo's Most Innovative New Product Awards on May 18th, marking a turning point for how the confectionery and snack industries recognize their brightest ideas. Nearly 500 products entered the competition this year—the largest field the program has ever seen—a surge that speaks to something shifting in how manufacturers approach their craft. The National Confectioners Association, which hosts the expo, used the occasion to restructure the awards themselves, retiring the old Best in Show and Small Business Innovator categories in favor of two new top honors: the Trailblazer Award and the Powerhouse Award.
The change reflects a deliberate choice about what the industry wants to celebrate. Rather than a single winner and a separate track for smaller players, the new structure acknowledges two distinct kinds of innovation happening simultaneously in the market. Powerhouse awards recognize high-impact launches from established brands with resources and reach. Trailblazer awards spotlight disruptive ideas from emerging companies—the kind of thinking that can reshape a category. John Downs, president and CEO of the National Confectioners Association, framed the shift as a response to how brands are actually innovating now, moving beyond old categories to capture what consumers actually want.
The winners themselves tell a story about where the industry is headed. In the candy side, CandyRific's WARHEADS Loud Mouth Bites took the Powerhouse honor, while Issei's Mochi Gummies in dark chocolate-covered cherry won the Trailblazer slot. For snacks, The Hershey Company's Dot's Snack Mix claimed the Powerhouse award, and Belle's Gourmet Popcorn's Raspberry Rose beauty-focused offering won as a Trailblazer. The full list of winners across 16 categories reveals an industry experimenting with flavor fusion, functional benefits, and unexpected combinations: Nutella ice cream cones, everything bagel pretzels, Cinnabon-flavored bacon jerky, and Cholula hot sauce tortilla chips all made the cut.
What emerges from the category winners is a picture of manufacturers responding to evolving consumer tastes. There are gourmet plays like Tru Fru's freeze-dried milk and white chocolate strawberries. There are functional angles, like the Raspberry Rose popcorn marketed for beauty and glow benefits. There are nostalgia-driven mashups, like the Mashups Candy Salad Kit licensed product. And there are straightforward flavor innovations—sour cherries and apples in gummy form, strawberry moochies in chocolate, strawberry milkshake cookies. The breadth suggests no single trend dominates; instead, brands are pursuing multiple vectors of innovation simultaneously.
The record entry number itself carries weight. Nearly 500 products competing means the industry is not consolidating around a few safe bets. Manufacturers across the scale are investing in new ideas, new flavors, new formats. The Sweets & Snacks Expo, which brings together candy and snack retailers, manufacturers, and industry partners from around the world, will display all the award winners in a Featured Product Showcase beginning May 19th. For an industry that generates $55 billion in retail sales annually, these awards function as a signal—a way of saying which innovations matter, which ones deserve shelf space and consumer attention. The expanded field and restructured categories suggest the conversation about what innovation means in candy and snacks is itself still evolving.
Notable Quotes
The Most Innovative New Product Awards celebrate the creativity, ingenuity and consumer-focused innovation that continue to move the confectionery and snack industries forward. With a record number of entries this year, the 2026 finalists and winners demonstrate how brands are responding to evolving consumer preferences.— John Downs, president & CEO of the National Confectioners Association
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did they feel the need to change the award categories entirely? Couldn't they have just added new ones?
The old structure—Best in Show and Small Business Innovator—created a hierarchy that didn't match how the market actually works anymore. A small company with a genuinely disruptive idea and an established brand with massive distribution are solving different problems. The new Trailblazer and Powerhouse split acknowledges that both matter, just differently.
So the Powerhouse Award is basically for the Hersheys and Ferreras of the world?
Exactly. It's for products that have the backing and reach to move volume and shape what people see on shelves. But the Trailblazer is saying: we also care about the weird, the experimental, the thing that might not exist in five years but changes how we think about what's possible.
Nearly 500 entries is a lot. Does that mean innovation is accelerating, or just that more companies are entering?
Probably both. But the fact that it's the largest field in program history suggests manufacturers feel like there's room to experiment right now. Consumer preferences are shifting—functional snacks, gourmet options, flavor fusions—and companies are betting that novelty pays.
Looking at the winners, what's the actual pattern? Is there one?
Not really a single trend. You've got Nutella ice cream cones next to everything bagel pretzels next to Cinnabon bacon jerky. It's more like the industry is exploring every direction at once—nostalgia, functionality, premium positioning, flavor mashups. The only consistent thing is that they're all trying to give people a reason to pick them up instead of the standard option.
Does winning one of these awards actually matter for sales?
That's the real question, isn't it? The showcase starts May 19th, so retailers and buyers will see them. For a small company, that visibility could be everything. For Hershey or Ferrero, it's validation and marketing. But whether a Trailblazer product actually reaches consumers depends on whether a retailer takes a chance on shelf space.