No Sour Grapes About These Sales

BOSTON — The hottest thing in sweets is sours.

Visitors to the nation’s summer confectionery trade show are puckering up to Crybaby Extra Sour Bubblegum, Silli Sours, Sour Blast Sour Stars and others.

“There’s no real rhyme or reason why the sour mix sells,” said Bill Sheehan, spokesman for National Confectioners Assn.

“It snowballs. Sours are doing well, so other manufacturers extend it.”

E. Rosen Co.’s Sour Little Devils are one of the hits. They were designed with the help of 400 Rhode Island youngsters, said owner John B. Rosen, one of 900 exhibitors at the three-day trade show, sponsored by what was formerly called the National Candy Wholesalers Assn. The organization switched names in February to the American Wholesale Marketers Assn.

“No matter how bad the economy is, it takes a lot before you decide not to get your child a good piece of candy,” said Marvin Holland of E. Rosen Candy Co. in Pawtucket, R.I.

Retail candy sales are expected to reach $14 billion this year, up 2% from last year, according to the National Confectioners Assn. Americans consume an average of 21 pounds of candy a year per person, up from 16 pounds in 1981, the association says.