Ask any exit pollster in Ohio: There's danger in putting too much faith in incomplete numbers. What appears to be an accurate presentation of results may be exactly the opposite of reality. It's a good principle to keep in mind when examining the state of the U.S. candy industry in light of food, drug and mass merchandiser sales data. The data is not wrong; it's just incomplete. Non-traditional and untracked retail outlets are not only responsible for an increasingly larger percentage of candy sales, they're accounting for an ever-increasing percentage of all food sales. "Dollar stores are the fastest growing [retail] segment in the United States. And the minute you don't track the fastest growing segment, you miss a tremendous amount of revenue," says Pierson Clair, president and chief executive officer, Brown & Haley, Tacoma, Wash. "My experience looking at dollar stores, is that most candy brands are showing up there."
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