Like many people, I’ve had my ups and downs when it comes to staying on track with my target weight through the years. But a few years back, I began a new regimen that has successfully helped me drop nearly 50 pounds, and I’m back at my target weight (I can even fit into clothes that I haven’t worn since high school, and enough time has passed that they’re back in style—after all, sooner or later, everything old is new again…).

When people ask me how I did it, I have a simple response: hard work. Two keys to success? Daily exercise and watching portion sizes.

What I haven’t done is eliminate anything from my diet. I still eat a wide variety of foods. And I don’t cut out treats. In fact, I regularly let myself have some sort of reasonable treat—just a little moment of delicious joy.

Much like the namesake journeys of our elementary school days, a field trip for a trade journalist is an opportunity to stretch your legs, go someplace new, and learn. When Kemin Industries, Des Moines, IA, extended an invitation to a select group of food industry reporters to visit its Bakery Innovation Center (BIC) at their headquarters, I happily accepted—in small part for a change of scenery, but mostly because in-person learning opportunities have been in short supply since the start of the pandemic.

During the visit, the other journalists (including my BNP Media colleague Prepared Foods Chief Editor Bob Garrison) and I used all five senses in our tour of the BIC, a 2,300-square-foot facility equipped with an analytical lab, pilot-scale production equipment, and other features. We got to see the BIC staff in action, hear them explain the various services they offer tortilla and baked-good customers, get our hands on corn tortillas as we mixed and baked them in preparation for testing, smell the aroma of the cooking disks, and taste the fruits of our labor. Then, we got to put fresh-made tortillas through a number of tests. According to Marketing Director Courtney Schwartz, Kemin customers are invited to visit the BIC and share in these experiences.

Industry messaging around candy and confectionery products these days revolves around the fact that these products have always been occasional treats. They aren’t everyday foods, and they aren’t snacks. They’re treats—as the National Confectioners Association (NCA) fondly notes these days, “Always a treat.”

Reinforcing this “always a treat” messaging for the world’s consumers is vital to keeping candy and confectionery products in focus. Along these lines, one of the key takeaways from the 2023 NCA State of the Industry conference, which took place in Miami in early March, centered on the work NCA and its member companies have accomplished with Partnership for a Healthier America. The initiatives sought to have leading chocolate and candy companies, including Mars Wrigley, Ferrara, Ferrero, Lindt, Ghirardelli, and Russell Stover, voluntarily commit to showcasing calorie information on front-of-pack messaging, and to cutting down at least half of their single-serve products to 200 calories or less. At the event, John Downs, NCA president and CEO, proudly reported that we as an industry have accomplished both goals ahead of schedule.

Transparency as in industry is instrumental to resonating with widespread consumer goals, and these efforts will go a long way to helping people manage their daily calorie intake, hopefully reinforcing the fact that treats are OK, just in moderation.

Most people already understand the resonance of a nice treat. According to NCA’s 2023 “State of Treating” report:

• We are okay with occasional treats, with 86% of Americans agreeing that it’s fine to occasionally treat yourself with chocolate or candy
• Fun is important to us, with 81% of people reporting that chocolate and candy are a “fun part of life”
• We like to share the fun, with 78% of us believing that confectionery products are great for sharing and gifting
• And, despite inflation, 74% of consumers believe confectionery products are affordable treats

In an economic climate that continues to pose challenges, this news is encouraging. In fact, it’s an absolute treat. SF&WB