CHICAGO — The National Confectioners Association is now accepting speaker proposals for its 2018 Sweets & Snacks Expo. Set to occur from May 22-21, 2018, at the McCormick Place in Chicago, the Sweets & Snacks Expo will feature more than 18,000 registrants and more than 800 exhibitors.

Potential speakers may pick from the following list of topics:

• E-commerce sales and shopper behavior

• C.P.G. packaging, specifically new technologies

• Multi-cultural snacking behavior

• Innovative merchandising solutions

• The secrets of success with Lidl, Aldi and other emerging retailers

• Social marketing trends: What’s after the obvious?

• Seasonal collaboration best practices

• Channel perspective: Winners and losers

• Balancing the wants and needs of the shopper at checkout

• Private label facts and myths

• Other topics relevant to confections, snacks, snacking and specialty products sales

Selected speakers will be given complimentary admission to the Sweets and Snacks Expo along with other benefits. A select number of speakers may also be offered the opportunity to conduct a more comprehensive review of the material following the expo in a webinar during the summer of 2018.