Remember the carefree days of childhood, before bailouts and 401k’s that melted faster than an M&M in your mouth?
The The New York Times says candy sales are up nationwide, and not the expensive stuff but the nostalgic treats and so-called penny candies that apparently bring some comfort in hard times. It’s uncertain precisely why that is, but sugar gives our bodies a boost and little candies are relatively cheap.
A California candy shop owner told the Times her sales of Necco wafers and Mallo Cups have tripled and that customers tell her “even though they are living on less, they’re setting aside cash for candy.” A vice president of the company that makes Necco wafers said customers have written to say the candy helps them flash back to childhood.
This has happened before. Mars, maker of M&Ms, did well during the Great Depression, introducing its Mars bar and Three Musketeers in those years. Hershey had no problems then and is doing well in this current recession/depression.
But even comfort candy has calories and a woman who runs Weight Watchers meetings in Manhattan told the Times stress-related candy consumption is common now. “I’m hearing a lot about Skittles and Mary Janes.”
As Jamie Hallman, owner of a candy store in San Francisco’s Marina district said, “All is well in candy land.”
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I’ve given in to a candy urge when I’m worried about something; it’s a cheap “high”.
On a (slightly) related note, Son #1, who works for a division of a mega-foods company, was telling me yesterday that sales of chips are up, while the rest of the company’s products are languishing. Instead of going out for meals, people are buying ingredients and making their own.
Kathy G’s last blog post..If Life Gives You Lemons…
Candy can be a comfort, no doubt about it.
I’ve seen reports from the UK about the very issue your son mentioned. What I’ve seen here is fast food joints are thriving (as in the UK) and sales of processed foods, notably Spam and cream of mushroom soup (gah) are way up. It’s interesting he said chips sales are up. They’re a bit like candy – comforting, portable, relatively inexpensive and something most of us ate as kids. Thanks!!
Ella,
As an editorial cartoonist and foodie, I’m so glad to have found your site, which indulges two of my greatest passions: politics and stuffing my face. I’d like to invite your readers to visit my blog, to which I post every day with my cartoons and commentary. The link to the Papal cartoon that you have been running is: http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/03/the_pope_condoms_and_hivaids.html
Today’s is about a courageous local U.S. Rep who beat breast cancer.
Best of luck to you for your continued success!
Chan Lowe
Chan Lowe’s last blog post..Debbie Wasserman Schultz…one tough character
Thanks for visiting and for the kind words. I’m going to move a copy of this to the comments for the most recent cartoon of the week – yours!
I guess if I’m going to watch food court improv videos, I ought to have a little candy! I’m a sucker for the stuff ~ one of my favorite pre-Christmas rituals is sitting for hours with the Vermont Country Store catalogue and trying to decide: root beer barrels? horehound?
rock candy? And of course there were those wax bottles and lips filled with that ghastly solution. (I prefer never to know what that was!)
shoreacres’s last blog post..An Almost Silent Spring
I loved those wax things, shore. They’re still fairly easy to find around here but I’ve never gotten any because they’re probably best left as a childhood memory. The same with Pixie Sticks, if you remember those.
The Vermont Country Store has things I forgot ever existed. I was there once. I was on my way somewhere on a country road (which is redundant, for VT) and passed it so I stopped on my way back. I only had 20 minutes or so and could have killed an hour, and even though I mean to go back I never do. You can’t miss it – it’s the only thing on a stretch of fields and cows.
Thanks for the memories!