Woodstock company specializes in classic candy

By Rebecca Rothbaum
Poughkeepsie Journal

To wedge a pair between your teeth, savor its synthetic, can't-believe-this-is-edible flavor and well, waxy, texture, is to fly back in time.

''It's everything we remember from when we were young,'' said Bridget Sweeney-Bell. ''It brings back a lot of memories.''

Sweeney-Bell is the owner of Woodstock Candy & Fudge, an eight-year-old storefront on Woodstock's Tinker Street that has carved a niche for itself as a purveyor of penny candies (although these days such sweets hardly qualify for the name; some fetch as much as $1 apiece) and one in a number of stores nationwide cashing in on baby boomers' taste for the past.

Nostalgia sells

''Certainly, these candies are popular with kids because they have qualities and characteristics that are attractive to kids -- they're juicy, they're fruity, they're chewy,'' said Susan Fussell, director of public relations for the National Confectioners Association, a trade group based in Vienna, Va. ''But one of the reasons they're so popular is because now there is a whole segment of the adult population that is buying them.''

Fussell pointed to the specialty shops popping up across the country and its computer screens, including California Candy, a store outside San Francisco, and Groovy Candies.com, which sells gift baskets with 1950s and '60s themes.

''My cousin got her father a '60s Groovy Candy basket,'' Fussell said, ''and he loved it.''

Similarly, while many of Sweeney-Bell's walk-in customers are families with young children, she said her retro candy boxes are popular with adults looking to give the gift of nostalgia.

Sweeney-Bell has recently begun packaging the classic candies in a retro candy gift box, a veritable dentist's nightmare that includes Pixy Stix, Sugar Daddies, Candy Buttons and, yes, wax lips. She sells them out of her store and on its Web site, www.woodstockcandy.com, for $19.95, $29.95 or $69.95, depending on the size.

''Who over the age of 11 buys Necco wafers,'' Elizabeth Whitman gushed. ''What a cool idea!''

Whitman, a marketing manager from New Jersey in her late 30s, ordered a retro gift box from Woodstock Candy & Fudge for a group of co-workers, specially requesting certain favorites be included, such as Sugar Daddies and candy necklaces. She fondly remembers the pastel ring the necklaces left on her skin.

Whitman compared the sweets of yore to other retro foods that have in recent years made a comeback, such as macaroni and cheese and meatloaf, so called ''comfort foods'' that hearken back to a kinder, gentler world.

''People are so freaked out about this world,'' Whitman said. ''I think if they could wrap themselves up in cocoons and never come out, they would.''

Whatever the reason, people seem to light up when they see their favorite childhood candies, said Sweeney-Bell, who over the years added more to her stock as customers snapped them up. Bell now orders from five different distributors, who supply her with such hard-to-find classics as Zotz and candy cigarettes, the latter of which have raised some eyebrows.

''I've gotten some flak about them,'' she admits. ''I think they're fine.''

Mostly, she said, comments are positive. People come in with their children and tell them, 'this is what I had when I was a kid,' '' she said.

''It's just so fun to be here,'' she added. ''I look forward to coming to work.''