A long-term effort on the part of the Snack Food Association’s leadership has now paid off, as SFA business member companies will now be able, for the first time, to exhibit at the All Candy Expo convention and trade show held by the National Confectioners Association.

The show will be held June 6-8 at McCormick Place Lakeside Center in Chicago. SFA members will receive a special rate to exhibit at the expo as a result of an agreement recently agreed to by SFA and NCA.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for SFA members to reach out to new buyers, including retailer customers and distributors by taking advantage of this opportunity,” said SFA President Jim McCarthy. “At our own SNAXPO, members are able to meet with equipment and ingredient suppliers and others, but now they will have an opportunity to meet with buyers of their products. That is a tremendous opportunity.

“This is a very timely development, given the blending of channels these days and the crossover that is taking place between snack and candy manufacturers,” McCarthy noted. “It is a logical evolution, and we appreciate this opportunity.”

Manufacturers of chocolate, candy, gum, cookies/biscuits, sweet snacks, meat snacks, nuts, savory (salty) snack goods and every other confection imaginable now will be represented on the trade show floor, NCA noted, “from the classic selections consumers buy year after year, to the hundreds of new products introduced.”