Six popular candy companies have agreed to not advertise directly to children under the age of 12, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) which made the announcement in partnership with the National Confectioners Association.
The companies—Ferrara Candy Company, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Jelly Belly Candy Company, Just Born Quality Confections, the Promotion in Motion Companies, Inc. and R.M. Palmer Company—say they will not engage in confectionery advertising that is primarily directed to children under age 12 or advertise their candy in school to children from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. They join six other confectionery companies—American Licorice Company, Ferrero USA, The Hershey Company, Mars, Incorporated, Mondelez International, and Nestlé—that do not advertise directly to children.
“Better Business Bureau has always felt that smaller companies can be just as much a part of the self-regulatory success story as major corporations,” says Mary Power, president and CEO of CBBB. “This latest initiative is yet another example of how responsible companies can join together to efficiently regulate themselves.”
The pledge is part of the Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI. CCAI is modeled after the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), another CBBB-administered self-regulation program. Better Business Bureau and the National Confectioners Association launched CCAI in 2016 to reduce candy advertising directed to children under age 12. CCAI is based on the Core Principles of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative and is run by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
