Snickers maker adding vitamins, nutrients to sweets

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. -- The makers of Snickers think it's time to melt the energy bar and candy bar concepts together.

So Masterfoods USA, formerly M&M/Mars, is keeping an old name on a new product, Snickers Marathon, and is promising much of the same chocolate and gooey caramel flavor. Adding vitamins, minerals and a blend of protein may help get rid of one traditional ingredient for some buyers: guilt.

Candy industry experts think the bar will be a hit with a public that is becoming more health conscious but finds some energy products taste like -- well, not at all like candy.

'Fortified junk food'

Nutrition experts aren't at all sweet on the idea. Bonnie Liebman, director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, sees all energy bars as "fortified junk food."

She said most people don't realize the term energy food simply means food with calories, adding that most Americans are overweight, don't get enough exercise and don't need the 200-plus calories in a typical energy bar.

The 2-ounce Marathon bars come in chewy chocolate peanut and multigrain crunch, both with the Snickers classic trio of chocolate, peanuts and caramel. Former chef Bill Bellody, head of Masterfoods' prototype and design group, said his staff spent about three years tinkering with the flavor.

The company is aiming the bar at active people, and points to San Francisco firefighter Joe Horton, a father of three children who often works 96-hour stretches, as one of eight "marathoners" recruited to help evaluate the bars.

"It's got a nice texture and I like the taste," said Horton, who still runs, bicycles, plays basketball and skis regularly. "Other bars I've had before taste like chalk or have a chemical flavor to them."

Could hurt Snickers sales

Product line extensions are an old, time-proven tactic in the food industry. Mitchell Pinheiro, packaged food analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott, thinks candy companies can succeed in the energy bar market by luring people who feel guilty about eating candy bars.

The drawback could be a drop in sales of original Snickers, Pinheiro said.

The big candy makers have some advantages over smaller health food companies, including deep pockets and strong distribution channels.

"Mainstream marketers are moving into the category because of the double-digit growth," said Stefanie Thompson, who covers candy and packaged foods for Advertising Age magazine. Examples include Kraft Foods, Kellogg Co. and Quaker Oats.

And as the bars go mainstream, they are becoming more tasty, with chocolate coatings and the like, Thompson said.

Bernard Pacyniak, editor in chief of Candy Industry magazine, says Masterfoods has an excellent chance of success in the energy bar market, given competitive pricing (suggested price is $1.49), Snickers' popularity and marketing savvy.

The fact that Masterfoods is getting into energy bars, "I think that signals that they're going to go after Nestle pretty hard," Pacyniak said.

Nestle SA, which competes with Mars in global candy and pet food sales, owns the popular Power Bar brand.

Other recent Masterfoods product successes include Uncle Ben's rice and pasta bowls; Snickers Almond bar; Aquadrops mints; and tiny, round versions of its top candy bars called Poppables.