Hey Funhouse Fam! 🍬
There is one event on the entire Candy Funhouse calendar that has our Candyologist team absolutely losing it with excitement every single year. It's not a holiday. It's not a product drop. It's the Sweets & Snacks Expo — the single biggest candy and snack trade show in North America — and this year it's heading somewhere it has never been before: Las Vegas, baby. 🎰
We're going to be there May 19–21. We have our own booth on the floor. And we genuinely cannot wait. Click here to see the deets!
Every year we get the same question from the Funhouse Fam: what actually IS the candy show? So let us break it all the way down for you — because this event is a very big deal and you deserve to know exactly why.
The Candy Show — Here's What You Need to Know
The Sweets & Snacks Expo 2026 is an annual trade show hosted by the National Confectioners Association. The organization that has represented the American candy industry since 1884. Every May it brings together more than 1,000 candy and snack brands, over 15,000 industry professionals, and — we're going to need you to sit down for this — three entire acres of candy and snack products under one roof.
Three. Acres. Of. Candy.
Haribo, Ferrero, Mondelez, Mars — the biggest names in candy are all there showing off their newest and most exciting creations. Right next to them are the scrappy startups who are about to change everything. New flavors, new formats, wild new collabs. If it's happening in the candy world in the next twelve months, this is where it starts.
For example, last year we got to try the new, now-released Nutella Peanut Butter AND Nerds Juicy Gummy Clusters before they were available to the public or in stores.
Talk about rich candy flex, right?
The 2026 show runs May 19–21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and this being the first time the Expo has ever been held in Vegas makes it the most hyped edition in years. More energy, more brands, more everything. We are SO ready.
Wait, Can Candy Fans Attend?
We know. We KNOW. This is the question that breaks hearts every single year. The Sweets & Snacks Expo is a trade-only event — meaning it's exclusively for qualified industry professionals. According to the official FAQ, attendance is restricted to companies in the confectionery and snack industries. No public tickets, no day passes, no "my cousin works in food distribution" loopholes.
Only manufacturers, retailers, distributors, buyers, brokers, and media get through those doors. And getting in requires actual industry credentials — not just enthusiasm (because if enthusiasm counted, you'd all be in).
Here's the thing though: that's exactly what your Candyologists are for. We walk every aisle, taste every sample, track down every interesting new product — and then we bring it all back to you. The candy show is our version of a theme park. And we share every single ride report.
What It's Actually Like On The Floor (Real Talk From People Who've Been Many Times)
Okay, forget the press release version. Here's what it's genuinely like:
You walk in and the smell hits you before anything else does. Chocolate, fruit candy, sour belts, savory snacks, and at least fifteen mystery flavors all mixing together in the most gloriously overwhelming way.
Then the floor opens up and you realize just how far it goes. Hundreds of booths, stretching further than you can see, each one trying to out-creative the one next to it.
The major brand booths are a whole spectacle. Mondelez once built what was essentially a themed entertainment venue inside their space — photo ops with your favorite candy characters, scavenger hunts, the full experience.
Mars and Haribo do not show up to the candy show to play it small. But some of our all-time favorite moments have come from the tiniest booths, where a founder is standing there with one product and zero hesitation about telling you exactly why it's going to be your new obsession. (They're usually right.)
absolute overtime and your notes app looks like a candy dictionary exploded. By end of Day 3 you have tried things you didn't know existed, you have strong opinions about flavor trends you'd never thought about before, and you are genuinely the most informed candy person on the planet for about 72 hours. It is exhausting, it is incredible, and we would do it every week if we could.
The Parts We Never, Ever Skip
Startup Street — Our Favorite Three Words in the Candy Business
Startup Street is the section of the Expo dedicated to candy and snack brands that have been in business for under three years — the newcomers, the underdogs, the brands who don't have a massive budget but have a product interesting enough to earn a spot on this floor.
We have found things on Startup Street that became some of our best-selling products. We have also found things that had absolutely no business existing in the best possible way. Last year one chip brand stopped us completely mid-aisle and made it straight onto our Top 10 Expo Finds of 2025 list.
The brands on Startup Street have to be genuinely interesting because they can't out-spend the big players. That creative constraint produces some of the most exciting candy we've ever tried.
Never. Skip. Startup Street.
The Most Innovative New Product Awards (MINPA)
Every year the Expo awards the Most Innovative New Product across twelve candy and snack categories — judged by a panel of senior buyers from the biggest retailers in America including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Albertsons, Dollar General, IT'SUGAR and our very own Candyologist from Candy Funhouse! These are people with real purchasing power making real decisions.
Why do we track these so closely? Because MINPA winners have a habit of being everywhere within twelve months. We've been covering the winners since 2023 and 2024 — the track record speaks for itself. If the buyers say it's innovative, the shelves agree pretty quickly.
The NCA Candy Trend Sessions
The National Confectioners Association drops their annual trend research at the show — not buzzwords, but actual consumer data about what's growing, what's declining, and what's about to break through. For 2026 the three big trends are Newstalgia Reshaping The Classics, More In Every Bite, and Made For The Moment.
We sit in on every session and use the insights to shape what we write about and what we bring into the store for the rest of the year. It's like a cheat code for knowing what candy you're going to be obsessed with six months from now.
This year we have our very own Candyologist hosting a session on Creating Shareable Brand Moments! Click here to find out more!
Why We're There With Our Own Booth This Year
Here's something we've learned after years of attending: being a Canadian retailer at an American trade show requires a completely different mindset than just being a buyer at the show.
This year is different from previous years in one very exciting way: we're not just walking the floor — we're on it. Candy Funhouse has its own booth at the 2026 Sweets & Snacks Expo showcasing our Candy Fun Street brand, right alongside the biggest candy companies in the world.
What does that mean for you? It means we're in a completely different set of conversations at this show. Not just as buyers moving through looking for great products — but as part of the industry that's deciding what comes next. That access changes everything about what we're able to bring back.
Booth: 1381 — come find us if you're an industry professional attending the show!
Frequently Asked Questions About the Sweets & Snacks Expo
Q: When and where is the Sweets & Snacks Expo 2026?
A: May 19–21, 2026 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. There's also a pre-show Supplier Showcase on May 18.
Q: Can regular candy fans attend the Sweets & Snacks Expo?
A: Unfortunately no — the show is trade-only and strictly not open to the public. Only verified industry professionals with company credentials can attend.
Q: What kinds of products are at the Sweets & Snacks Expo?
A: Everything in the candy and snack universe — chocolate bars, gummies, sour candy, hard candy, chips, protein snacks, novelty items, international imports, and innovations that haven't been announced anywhere else yet.
Q: How do I find out what new candy came out of the show?
A: Right here! We publish a full post-show breakdown every year covering our favorite new products, what's landing at Candy Funhouse, and the trends to watch. Sign up for our emails to get it before anyone else.
Q: When will the new products from the 2026 Expo be available to buy?
A: Most products shown at the Expo hit retail and online within 3–12 months. We'll flag estimated availability in our post-show recap and send email updates as new arrivals land.
We'll See You On The Other Side
The 2026 Sweets & Snacks Expo is going to be one for the books — first time in Vegas, most ambitious edition yet, and a candy industry that is genuinely buzzing with new ideas right now. Your Candyologists are going in fully prepared and extremely ready to eat a concerning amount of candy in the name of research.
What do YOU want us to find? Drop it in the comments — we read every single one and your list is coming to Vegas with us. 🎰🍬
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