The Surprising Candies That Are Taking Over Grocery Aisles (It’s Not Chocolate!)

Ali Domrongchai
Ali DomrongchaiAssociate Editor, Groceries
Ali Domrongchai, a Southern-raised, Brooklyn-based food writer, grew up around her family's Thai restaurant that sparked her initial love for food. (Fun fact: her grandparents briefly ran a Thai grocery store in the 70s). In this space, her curiosity on the role that food plays…read more
published Jan 28, 2025
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A variety of local and imported snacks, candies, and chocolates are showcased on the store shelf at Mercato grocery store.
Credit: TY Lim / Shutterstock

Over the past few years, murmurs of a world without chocolate (and coffee, while we’re on the subject) have started getting louder. You see, the majority of the world’s chocolate is made from cocoa grown in West Africa, where extreme weather, including droughts and heavy rainfall, is damaging crops and reducing yields. It’s also causing prices to — you guessed it — increase.

It’s a harsh reality, yes. But there’s some good news to report! More and more brands are embracing some really fun and delicious ways to create sweets, sans chocolate. (Even Costco discontinued its beloved bags of Kirkland Signature chocolate chips last year, which was both a devastating loss and an eerie look into the possible future.) Despite concerns about chocolate, the candy aisle has never been more exciting. 

Credit: Ali Domrongchai

Gummy Candies in All Shapes, Sizes, and Even Textures

Chocolate is taking a back seat to the newest king of the candy aisle: gummies. And the ringleader? Nerds Gummy Clusters, which earned a top spot in last year’s The Kitchn Grocery Essentials.

These bite-size gummy candies coated in tangy, crunchy clusters of Nerds first launched in 2020. Just a few years later, Gummy Clusters rocketed to success hitting $800 million in sales in 2024, according to reporting in The New York Times. (Just a few years ago Nerds had less than $50 million in total sales.) The fandom is spawning limited-edition spinoffs, like these Valentine’s Day-themed Gummy Clusters that have a subtle berry-sweet flavor.

Brands like Haribo and Sour Patch Kids are also going all-in on the gummy candies with seemingly endless innovations in flavors and shapes (have you tried the new Snapple Sour Patch Kids? They’re face-puckeringly sour and flavored with the subtle sweetness of classic Snapple drinks, like fruit punch).

Oh, and even if you’ve spent just one day on TikTok you’d likely see how much of the internet is obsessed with Swedish candy (not to be mixed up with Swedish Fish). Candy eaters are especially infatuated with BUBS, a Swedish candy brand that makes jelly and foam-textured candies. They get their chewy, gummy-like texture from a mix of potato protein and cornstarch (in lieu of animal-based gelatin) and if you haven’t tried the banana flavor, do yourself a favor and get a bag ASAP.

And with Valentine’s Day, one of chocolate’s biggest holidays of the year around the corner, there are a lot of red, pink, and heart-shaped gummy candies popping up on shelves (and in gift bags).

Credit: Ali Domrongchai

Chocolates Without an Ounce of Cocoa

Chocolate is an integral part of many recipes that (understandably) people aren’t interested in letting go of. Take the chocolate chip cookie, for example: It would be incredibly startling if one day the classic dessert went poof (or became prohibitively expensive to make). One solution? Embracing chocolate-free chocolate chips made out of carob. 

Carob chips are made from the pods of the carob tree (that are roasted and processed in a similar fashion to cocoa pods) and contain a similar nutty-creamy taste to chocolate, without any chocolate at all. There are a few brands making waves in this space, like Missy J’s Carob Chips and Chatfield’s Carob Chips. They’re mostly marketed as an allergen-free substitute to chocolate chips, but could fit right into anyone’s pantry. 

I recently tried some Chatfield’s carob chips and was delightfully surprised to find that they are just as creamy and smooth as chips containing cocoa. They have a similar, chocolaty taste and texture, but with a hint of nuttiness that makes them ever-so-slightly different.  They lightly melted in my hands in a similar fashion to standard baking chips, and I’m excited to see how they fare in a batch of chocolate chip banana bread

Are you embracing chocolate-free candy? Tell us about it in the comments below.