Hitting store shelves this summer, Wrigley’s new sugar-free stick gum 5 stimulates the senses with three intense flavors. Rain invokes a tingling sensation with a spearmint taste, Cobalt cools with strong peppermint and Flare warms with spicy cinnamon. Targeted to teens, 5 is billed as a gum “you can feel as you chew” and boasts sleek packaging to complement the bold flavors. The gum will retail for $1.49 per 15-stick envelope package.

Koko’s is expanding its line of Valentine’s Gummy Handcuffs by adding an everyday version. The 2.1-oz. fat-free candy item is fruit-flavored and blister- packed on a stand-out card. The candy cuffs are offered in a 12-count, small footprint display box or as individual units, which may be merchandised in a pegged section. There are six display boxes per case. Each gummy handcuff retails for from 99 cents to $1.29.

An extension to Hebert’s Fully Loaded Inclusion Bars, Fully Loaded Fudge is made with real cream and real butter, giving it a rich chocolate taste. Some new fudge toppings include Rainbow Crunch (dark chocolate pieces), Black Forest (dried tart cherries), Chocolate Walnut Marshmallow and Pecan Cinnamon. An 8-oz. container has a suggested retail price of $5.99.

Headshot Guarana Infused Energy Bars from Uncommon Loot will be launched in paintball, night club, and gaming industries around the country as a way to keep young adults awake. The bars combine 100 mg. of guarana, a highly caffeinated berry found in the Amazonian rainforest, with rice crisps and a toffee flavor. The suggested retail price for a 50-gram candy bar is $1.75.

Jelly Belly plans the release of three assortments for the fall season. For Halloween, Jelly Belly will release their Black & Orange Halloween Mix and their Monster Mash Mix. The Black & Orange Halloween Mix includes Orange Juice and Licorice flavored jelly beans. The Monster Mash Mix includes Island Punch, Kiwi, Orange Sherbet and Licorice flavors. Jelly Belly will also release an Autumn Mix, which will be accompanied by the newest flavor, pomegranate. The Autumn Mix still includes flavors like Chocolate Pudding, Toasted Marshmallow and Red Apple. The suggested retail price of a 9-oz. bag is $4.99-5.99, and the SRP of a 10-pound case is $7.99-8.99.

Minty Sweet Twist and Wild Blueberry Twist are two new sugar-free flavors of Trident gum. Minty Sweet Twist combines mint with a candy sweetness, and Wild Blueberry Twist provides a blend of blueberry and pomegranate. Wild Blueberry Twist is listed on the Wall Street Journal’s 10 “Next Big Flavors.” Both gums can be purchased in 18-piece packs and 40-piece multi-packs (eight 5-piece packs).

Tootsie Roll has just sweetened the pot for consumers on sugar-restricted diets with the rollout of new Sugar Free Tootsie Roll Midgees. This chewy, chocolatey treat, sweetened with Splenda, boasts taste and texture comparable to the original. New Sugar Free Midgees are available in 3-oz. peggable bags, packed 12 per case. The suggested retail price is $1.89 per bag.

Hillside Candy, best known for its Golightly brand of sugar-free candy, has recently expanded its range of Hillside Sweets hard candy made with sugar. Hillside Sweets now offers almost 50 different flavors, including seven different chocolate flavors, many popular fruit flavors and traditional favorites like butterscotch, honey, licorice and cinnamon. The line is available in either branded or unbranded wrappers. The candy is available in everyday and holiday mixes. Cases pack is 15 pounds (three 5-pound bags per case). The suggested retail price is $3.99 per pound.

Peanut Butter Marshmallow, Vanilla Caramels, Pecan Caramel Patties and Sandwich Cookies are among the newest products released by Asher’s Chocolates. These individually wrapped counter caddies are ideal for in-line displays at registers or coffee bars, according to Asher’s.

Pure Fun’s line of certified organic, kosher, vegan hard candies and lollipops are composed of eight styles of candy including citrus slices, chocolate meltdowns and fruit pinwheels. Pure Fun’s products don’t contain artificial colors or flavoring, and are made from organic juices and syrups. The candies will be available in select stores this summer. A 3.53-oz. package has a suggested retail price from $3.99 to $5.99, and is available in bulk as well.

Fascini’s CrEATables Chewy Candy Laces come in four flavors — Strawberry, Apple, Tutti Frutti and Blue Raspberry — and are encouraged to be twisted, braided, and then eaten. Sold in 1.4-oz. and 4-oz. bags, each bag includes instructions on making lanyards. The suggested retail price of the 1.4-oz. bags is 79 cents and of the 4-oz. bags is $1.19. Sour SNAGX, Fascini’s brand of bite-size sour candies, come in the same four flavors, and is sold in 1.75- and 4-oz. bags for the same suggested retail prices.

Thompson Chocolate’s 2007-08 season features the addition of six dark chocolates and four milk chocolates to the company’s all-natural and organic chocolate line-up. The autumn and winter releases of dark chocolates will be shaped as leaves and stars, while the milk chocolate releases will be pumpkin and Christmas balls. Hearts and eggs will be provided for Valentine’s Day and Easter, respectively, with emphasis on the foil’s color and pattern to differentiate the two chocolates. The dark chocolate line will also include 3-oz. 70% Dark Chocolate Miniatures. Other dark chocolates are 5 ounces in size and milk chocolates are 6 ounces.

Dentyne Blast, a new chewing gum from Cadbury Adams USA, contains a liquid center made with Erythritol, a breath freshener that draws heat away from the mouth to provide a cooling sensation. The sugarless gum comes in two flavors, Cool Lime and Winter Chill. Dentyne Blast is available in 9-piece packs and 3-pack bags.  

Farley’s & Sathers’ changemaker trays are now introduced with grape bubble gum. The trays, also available with apple and original flavored bubble gum, are 36 ounces and contain 180 pieces. The suggested retail price of three pieces is 25 cents.  

It may not be long before the sounds of a fork scraping your dessert plate are replaced by the sounds of a dessert spray soothing your palate.  

Innovative Candy Concepts, maker of the line of Too Tarts SmartChoice kids’ candy, is introducing a calorie-free, fat-free and sugar-free treat called Sinfully Delicious Gourmet Dessert Spray. Available in flavors such as Strawberry Cheesecake, Key Lime Pie, Milk Chocolate Turtle and Cinnamon Apple Pie, the dessert sprays, which have been in development for three years, are formulated with the sugar alternative Sucralose. “Sucralose is showing up in almost every single [candy manufacturer’s] product in the world,” says Armand Hammer, president of ICC. “I think it’s accepted as a safe, good alternative to sugar.” The idea behind the new products, says Hammer, is to offer adults a treat without feelings of guilt. “There’s an adult market out there that is begging to satisfy their cravings,” he continues.

Each Sinfully Delicious Gourmet Dessert Spray is packaged in a 20 ml. container and has a suggested retail price range from $2.49 to $3.49 per spray. Its portability, Hammer says, makes the spray user-friendly, and unlike a candy bar, which is usually consumed in a single sitting, it delivers 50 servings.

“It gives the consumer much more taste value,” Hammer says. “The spray is light-years ahead of any delivery system.”