Six Candy Companies Pledge Not to Advertise to Kids Under 12

March 16, 2016

Six candy companies whose brands include Brach’s, Lemonhead, Ghirardelli, Jelly Belly, Peeps, Mike and Ike, and Welch’s Fruit Snacks have agreed not to advertise to children under age 12, according to an announcement from the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The BBB and the National Confectioners Association will administer the program, named the Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative, and modeled after the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a self-regulatory initiative that already includes 18 large food companies, several of which also sell candy.

The companies joining the CCAI are Ferrara Candy Company, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Jelly Belly Candy Company, Just Born Quality Confections, The Promotion in Motion Companies, and the R.M. Palmer Company.

“It’s not appropriate to advertise candy to children. Children are susceptible to advertising, and don’t need encouragement to like and eat candy, which promotes diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, and other health problems,” said CSPI senior nutrition policy counsel Jessica Almy. “We applaud the six companies for making this important commitment not to advertise to children under 12 and encourage other candy companies to join this initiative.

CSPI has encouraged industry self-regulatory efforts to reduce the volume of junk-food advertising aimed at children. Though many big food manufacturers have pledged not to advertise unhealthy foods to children, a number of candy, restaurant, and media companies still have no policy to limit junk-food marketing to kids.