Q&A: CEO of Sweets & Snacks Expo expects big crowds at this year’s show

(photo courtesy Sweets & Snacks Expo)

The Sweets & Snacks Expo is set to open its 2025 edition Tuesday at the Indiana Convention Center, marking another chapter in the city’s relationship with the event that began during the coronavirus pandemic.

The annual trade show, organized by the Washington, D.C.-based National Confectioners Association, is expected to draw one of its largest crowds in years, with about 15,000 attendees from the snack and confection industry and 1,000 exhibitors—the largest count ever for the event.

IBJ spoke with John Downs, CEO of the confectioners group, about his expectations for this year’s event and why the group is so bullish on Indianapolis. The interview was edited for length and clarity.

The National Confectioners Association is in Year 2 of its eight-year agreement with Visit Indy, which will have Sweets & Snacks here two of every three years until 2031. Is there a high level of anticipation to return to Indianapolis this year?

We’re excited to be back, and it’s important to recognize that Indianapolis isn’t just a perfect host city for us, but is also a real strategic partner. The Visit Indy team are terrific partners for us and strategic collaborators to help us improve our experience each year.

Hoosier Hospitality is on full display during the time that we’re there in Indy. And the economic impact, according to Visit Indy, is somewhat significant. This year will be close to, they estimate $13 million and last year was a little over $12 million. So, I would call that a win-win proposition for [our group] and for Indianapolis and Indiana.

Your decision to come to Indianapolis on a semi-permanent basis follows several years in Chicago, where the convention grew extensively during its time there, but you’ve said you had essentially outgrown as a host city. What opportunities does Indianapolis present to overcome a challenge like that as you continue on a growth trajectory?

We were in Chicago for 25 years, so we had a long tradition there—that’s where we started and where we built the expo. Now it’s the largest snack and confectionary trade show in North America. But we just didn’t have any room to grow in Chicago, as we were kind of landlocked, given the timing of our show and other events happening around the same time.We needed to find another host city, given the fact that we had a tremendous amount of companies on our waiting list. 

Obviously we landed with Indy, which has been absolutely terrific, and we have room for growth. This year we will have over 1,000 exhibitors. That’s the largest, largest number we’ve had in the history of our show. We’ll also have approximately 15,000 attendees and 4,000 retail buyers.

We have over 400 new innovative products in 12 categories, so it’s going to be a big year for our showcase. You’re going to see innovation everywhere. It should be a big event, from a strategic standpoint, which makes Indianapolis the right fit for us as a host city. We’ve got plenty of hotel capacity.

You’ll be going to Las Vegas next year for the first of three scheduled stops there as part of your upcoming expo schedule. But you’ll be coming back to Indianapolis in 2027, and will do so—we expect—with the Signia by Hilton hotel and the expansion of the Indiana Convention Center fully finished. What’s it going to mean for the expo to see that project come to fruition?

It’s fantastic. Indianapolis and Indiana continue to improve the infrastructure and improve the experience. Indianapolis has become a real convention trade show hub in the Midwest and for the United States, so it’s just gratifying to see all this come to fruition.

So yes, our timing is impeccable. What’s the phrase? You’d rather be lucky than good. The city and state leaders have paid a lot of attention to economic development and infrastructure improvements, and that new hotel is going to be really wonderful. We’re looking forward to that, as it will obviously improve the experience in 2027 and 2028.

So, as someone who organizes such a major event, what do you think Indianapolis needs to be thinking about now as it looks toward eventually pursuing a renewal of your event and others? What would you like to see the city work on to make your team’s and attendee’s experience better?

Well, we’ve got to look out, a decade and beyond, right, to see what’s coming over the horizon. Your show reflects the vibrancy of your categories and we have two major categories in snacks and confections that have fantastic annual compound growth rates and are expected to continue to grow over the next decade or so.

So, the biggest thing for us to look at for long term, beyond 2032, as it relates to Indianapolis is whether we have room to grow. We’re growing the show in a very robust, solid way, so it’s a critical component of our planning for beyond 2032. We want to be sure there is enough hotel capacity and there is enough room for us to grow in the convention center apparatus, as it relates to being able to accommodate our growth that we expect.