Indianapolis to Welcome First Post-Pandemic Trade Show in June

INDIANAPOLIS — While Indianapolis has hosted 368,828 attendees at 76 in-person events since last July, none of them was a true trade show. That makes the news that the National Confectioners Association is bringing its 8,000-person expo — the largest confectionery and snack event in North America — to the Indiana Convention Center from June 22–25 especially delicious.

“We have been safely hosting events of up to 20,000 attendees since last July,” said Leonard Hoops, President and CEO of Visit Indy. “Of course, most recently we successfully hosted the entire NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. And now with vaccines widely available and organizations beginning to exhibit at and attend trade shows again, Indy is ready to lead the way in hosting business events while mitigating health and safety risks both for our community and our visitors.”

“The Sweets & Snacks Expo will be a very special show this year,” John Downs, President and CEO of the National Confectioners Association, said. “With recent safety guidance from the CDC easing social distancing requirements and declaring that domestic travel is safe, the Expo is well-timed for the confectionery and snack industries and our retail partners. While the event will be different than in past years, we’re excited to get back to business — and, of course, make meaningful connections, gain category insights, and experience two years of product innovation on the show floor.” The Expo is on track to attract more than 2,250 retail attendees to explore more than 130,000 square feet of candy and snack product exhibits.

The National Confectioners Association’s Sweets & Snacks Expo has called Chicago home since its first All Candy Expo was held at Chicago’s Navy Pier in 1997 — until last year when it was canceled due to COVID-19. It moved to Indianapolis for 2021 because of COVID restrictions and protocols that still were in place at the time the decision was made, according to Visit Indy.