Brazilian candy and snack companies closed $2.33m in business in Chicago

These companies, which were organized by ABICAB (Brazilian Cocoa, Chocolates, Peanuts, Candies and Byproducts Industry Association) in partnership with Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency Apex-Brasil, include Riclan, Simas, Docile and Embaré.

ABICAB expects them to generate a further $9.25m over the next 12 months.

The association noted the companies made 317 contacts with buyers, of which 220 were new at the show this year. The majority of the visitors were from the US, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

“These results are twice as much as the ones achieved in the previous year, when $1.02m of sales were made at the fair, with a further $5.1m expected in the following 12 months,”​ said the trade organization, noting the sales were mainly driven by investments in innovation.

According to Euromonitor, Brazil is currently the sixth largest confectionery market in volume and the fifth largest chocolate market in volume in the world. Its sales value of candy and chocolate is expected to reach $8.8bn by 2021.

ConfectioneryNews highlights some of the attending Brazilian companies.

Riclan​

Riclan, which was formerly known as Fábrica de Balas São João, was founded in Rio Claro, Brazil, in 1948. It mainly produces hard, chewy and pocket candies, as well as jelly gums and lollipops.

At the Sweets and Snacks Expo, the company generated an increase of $500,000 in export revenue compared to last year after bringing a new line of products, including sugar-free hard candies in coffee, milk and fruit with vitamin C flavors.

Romualdo Silva, director of international business at Riclan, said: “This year’s show was even better than the previous year in terms of the quality of visitors,”​ adding the candy manufacturer made new contacts with prospective clients from Canada and Australia.

“We also received a company from the UK, a country we don’t yet export to. It showed a great interest in our products,”​ said Romualdo.

Simas​

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Simas, which is known for manufacturing hard candies, brought new products, including the Love Pop Cotton Candy lollipops in two colors, to the tradeshow, as it managed to expand its business internationally.

Luiz Eduardo Simas, director at Simas, said the company is currently exporting to around 30 countries, and the expo helped the firm grow 20% in its export volume.

“As a result of the fair, we should increase our exports to the US and obtain new opportunities in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico,”​ he added.

Embaré​

Embaré was founded in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1935, mainly manufacturing and exporting caramel candies and dairy products.

Felipe Antunes, export manager at Embaré, said the company launched its latest passion fruit mousse caramel at the expo. He added it will achieve revenues between $500,000 and $1m, with additional exports over the next 10 months.

“We expect to increase our sales in both the US and Central American markets,”​ he said.