Ms. Maly says that sales of sugar-free and lo-cal candies have nearly doubled since last season in her shop, which now offers at least 20 types of these confections, such as difficult candies, taffy, chocolate-covered nut items and raisins, licorice and jam legumes.
Candy Candy is not alone. Several area candies merchants have also increased their lines of sugar-free or lo-fat items.
The choice at Scoops, in Owings Mills Mall, has a sugar-free difficult candies created by "Go Lightly," sugary with hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, an all-natural maize derivative. The same manufacturer produces a 16-calorie version that contains no fat, no cholesterol and no sodium. Scoops also carries items by Ann Raskas, whose 14-calorie difficult candies contains no fat.
At Bright Marsh Mall, Mr. Bulky's Treats and Gifts has a candies choice that's almost entirely sugar-free. Chocolate malt balls, cola wines, gummi bears and gummi worms are just a few types available.
In general, the sugar-free and lo-cal candies are more costly than their sugar-sweetened counterparts. At Mr. Bulky's, costs variety from $5.99-$9.99 per pound. But Candy Candy reports that while costs for sugar-free were initially greater, they now are comparable to costs of frequent candies.
Consumers should be aware that sugar-free is not always synonymous with low-calorie. Sorbital, maltitol and HSH, for example, are calorie-packed syrups frequently used to sweeten these confections. Products containing Sorbital and HSH also carry voluntary warning labels indicating that the candies can have a laxative effect if consumed in unwanted. But many consumers who buy these items are more concerned with the dental advantages of sacrificing glucose than they are with the calorie consumption.
Lowering fat consumption is an other concern for some sweet-eaters, and several candies companies are experimenting with new possibilities in this area. Hershey Foods, for example, is currently offering a low-fat candies bar in a limited test market. The candies bar contains only 150 calorie consumption and 9 grams of fat, compared with the 200 calorie consumption and 12 grams of fat in Hershey's milk items candy bar.
But while many Americans are consuming their fat-free and sugarless snacks with fervor, there are still those who cling to their passion for old-fashioned, fat- and calorie-laden candies. At the Candy Box in Catonsville, owner Mary Chizmadia says she gets few requests for low-calorie confections.
"We're a old fashion candies shop," she says. You don't come in if you're looking for reduced calorie consumption."
The concept may take some getting used to. Many people can still recall the times when health-conscious candies giveaway consisted of "Dreamy Tofu," or the flavorless diabetic cookies discovered in the exotic meals aisle of the market, next to the cans of low-sodium soups.
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