Functional and future-proof: The biggest sweets and snack trends from ISM 2026

In early February, the ISM trade fair in Cologne once again brought together the global sweets and snacks industry, hosting more than 1,600 exhibitors from 74 countries at a time of ongoing adjustment across categories. Cocoa prices may have fallen sharply from last year's exceptional highs, yet volatility continues to shape strategy across the sector, influencing everything from formulation choices to portfolio decisions. As price differentials between chocolate and sugar confectionery begin to normalize, some of the recent substitution effects favoring confectionery may soften. Even so, the category's accessibility, versatility, and pace of innovation keep it central to the broader snacking landscape.

Against this backdrop, exhibitors at ISM 2026 showcased a broad range of innovation - from functional confectionery and evolving chocolate formulation strategies to new ingredient systems, playful textures, and vegetable‑forward snacking. This review outlines the most noteworthy trends from the fair.

Growing consumer interest in small, feel‑better boosts is pulling confectionery into the wider wellness space, opening room for brands to add benefit‑led cues to indulgent formats.

This shift was visible at ISM 2026, which introduced a new dedicated Functional Sweets area, showcasing products that blend indulgence with a dose of supposed health benefits – with product claims ranging from improved energy and focus to stress relief and better sleep. High-protein concepts remained ubiquitous, but the trade fair also showcased notably more activity around probiotics and prebiotics, melatonin-based sleep aids, beauty-leaning concepts with collagen and biotin, and electrolyte replenishment.

Functional gummies represented one of the liveliest categories in this space. Chinese producers, including Xiamen Naturalife and Biobor, brought a broad line-up ranging from formats containing collagen and biotin to energy- and electrolyte-boosting options such as FitPro+ Gummies and Electro X Charge Chews. From Europe, Germany’s Nutriluv focused on balancing low-sugar indulgence with functional benefits, adding variants with collagen, energy-enhancing properties, and electrolytes to its growing range of gummies.

Fittingly, this year’s Top Innovation Award went to Spain’s CandyGlam’s Creatine Gummy Bar, a banana and dark chocolate bar fortified with creatine monohydrate, an ingredient widely associated with short-burst performance and muscle energy. The bar was praised for its balance of function and flavor, neatly reflecting the growing intersection of performance appeals and confectionery.

As cocoa markets begin to stabilize after a turbulent year, chocolate makers are widening their focus – shifting from short‑term cost responses to broader questions around resilience and future‑proof formulation.

At ISM, this came across in a mix of approaches, from cocoa‑free pathways to strengthened sustainability efforts and more adaptable formulation strategies. Cocoa-free innovation was visible across the fair, with fermentation-based offerings from players such as Planet A signaling how alternative ingredients are steadily gaining traction as manufacturers explore more resilient formulation options.

Traditional chocolate innovation advanced in parallel at the fair. Sustainability remained a central focus, with suppliers highlighting progress in traceability, reduced-impact sourcing, and deforestation-free commitments, alongside efforts to stabilize supply chains. AI-assisted formulation surfaced too. For example, Valio applied digital modeling tools to explore how adjustments in sweeteners, dairy components, and texture drivers can support reduced‑sugar and lactose‑free recipe development without compromising sensory quality. In flavor and format, craftsmanship continued to shine: Chocolaterie Carré’s Chocolate Espresso Martini Pearls – awarded second place in the Innovation Awards – were recognized for their indulgent liquid center and well-defined flavor profile. Meanwhile, nippon MINIS secured the Consumer Award with its bite-size format and flavor extensions – including a matcha limited edition – underscoring how traditional brands are looking to refreshing their appeal.

Manufacturers continue to face pressure to reformulate for cost, nutrition, and sustainability, making adaptable ingredient systems more critical than ever.

At ISM, this was evident in the dedicated ingredients area, which showed how the foundations of sweets and snacks continue to broaden. Reformulation remained a core theme, with exhibitors advancing sugar and salt reduction ingredients, including next-generation plant-based mineral salts that deliver meaningful sodium cuts without compromising flavor. Circularity also held strong momentum, as upcycled inputs made from cocoa fruit pulp, coffee grounds, and surplus bread offered manufacturers new ways to combine taste, sustainability, and more stable cost structures.

Longer-horizon technologies generated interest as well. Early cell-based cocoa butter prototypes and cultivated coffee concepts showed how suppliers are starting to build diversification strategies beyond traditional agricultural supply chains, even if commercial scale is still some way off. Meanwhile, umami-rich seaweed extracts and pickled vegetable inclusions expanded the options for cleaner labels with added depth and complexity of flavor.

Taken together, these developments point to ingredients and systems that are becoming more flexible, resource efficient, and technically ambitious, equipping manufacturers to navigate future volatility, sustainability pressures, and rising consumer expectations around transparency and quality.

As the market grows more crowded, brands are turning to standout textures and playful structures – enabled by evolving processing approaches – to refresh familiar categories and create unexpected sensory moments.

Temperature‑driven formats built on this momentum, with both freeze-dried and heat-stable products pushing texture in new directions and broadening the range of fun, format‑led innovations in the category.

Freeze-dried confectionery delivered some of the fair’s most eye-catching innovations. China’s Lubai presented freeze-dried chocolate marshmallows with a fruit filling. These had a hybrid structure positioned somewhere between aerated confectionery and soft-center candy. Lithuania’s Geld Baltic offered another highlight with its Star Candies freeze-dried “ice cream that doesn’t melt,” including a Neapolitan variant that translates the classic trio into a crisp, shelf-stable bite. Turkey’s Kervan Gıda also continued to build momentum in this space, extending its Bebeto line with freeze-dried blue raspberry rings.

Cold-enabled texture took a different turn at Spain’s Granizados Maresme, whose patented Frosty Pocket allows consumers to freeze an ambient liquid at home to create an instant slushy. And at the opposite end of the temperature spectrum, Ukraine’s Roshen showcased heat-resistant chocolate designed to maintain its structure and sensory consistency under warmer conditions, underscoring how temperature innovation is reshaping textures, formats, and sensorial possibilities across the category.

Savory snacking continues to gain momentum as consumer tastes shift toward bolder flavors, lighter textures, and more plant‑aligned formats. This is prompting brands to reimagine what a savory snack can be, opening space for new bases, “cleaner” processing styles, and ideas drawn from global food culture.

This shift was clearly visible at ISM, with exhibitors leaning into vegetable-led bases, fermentation-inspired flavors, and lighter processing methods. Vegilate’s carrot, pumpkin, and red beet chips brought natural color and gentle sweetness to the category, while a wave of mushroom-based snacks introduced umami depth. Pickle-inspired chips added sharper, fermentation driven notes, and brands such as Zeen showcased “no oil, no air” crisping philosophies aimed at cleaner label positioning.

Global influences also stayed prominent. Kimchi-seasoned snacks delivered bold, spicy fermented profiles, while avocado oil-fried nachos offered a premium, health-forward twist. Together, these launches reflected a broader movement in savory snacking toward more natural ingredients, culturally diverse flavors, and increasingly varied textures – developments that complement the confectionery-focused themes elsewhere at the fair and broaden the overall snacking landscape.

ISM 2026 offered a snapshot of an industry responding to volatility with creativity, discipline, and a broadening set of strategic options. Cocoa prices have stabilized sharply, yet sourcing risk and cost pressure remain central considerations, keeping manufacturers focused on flexibility across formulations, supply routes, and product design. As category cost dynamics settle, competitive pressures may shift once again, but the breadth of innovation on display in Cologne underscored the sector’s enduring capacity to adapt. With manufacturers rebalancing portfolios, exploring alternative ingredients, and refining their value propositions, ISM 2026 set up another dynamic year in sweets and snacking.