Are you season-savvy? Celebrate the opportunity to manage seasonal candy sales more strategically.(Category Insights)

Everyone in the confections business knows that one of the constants in seasonal candy is change--the constant rotating of various holiday candies to come one right after the other. The joke among consumers is that the day after Christmas, Valentine candy is available, and on February 15th, they can start buying Easter treats. Of course to retailers, it's no joke; it's a planned strategy to make the most of each season. Even so, there is opportunity to improve sales mid- and late-season.

In a recent presentation on seasonal candy trends, Tom Joyce, director of consumer and industry affairs at Hershey Foods Corp., shed some light on how consumers' seasonal candy shopping patterns have changed, and what that means to candy manufacturers and retailers. Of …