NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Lollipops that light up, Hershey's sugar-free chocolate, and caffeine-laced gum are just some of the hot new candies that scored a sweet victory at this year's All Candy Expo in Chicago.

More than 460 candymakers took part in the three-day candy fair last week, the industry's top-billed event for showcasing new products and the hot trends for retail buyers ahead of Halloween and Christmas, two of the biggest candy holidays of the year.

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"Novelty candy, interactive candy and lots of sugar-free candy and chocolate were the most obvious trend this year," said Susan Fussel, director of public relations for the National Confectioners Associations (NCA).

While "healthy candy" will always be a contradiction in terms for parents, moms and dads may be comforted to know that many more companies are putting out vitamin-infused, low-calorie and sugar-free versions of best-selling brands.

"The sugar-free aspect was particularly noticeable, as were licensed and limited edition candy," said Teresa Tarantino, editor-in-chief & associate publisher of industry publication Professional Candy Buyer.

But the one that got the biggest buzz at the fair was Jelly Belly's multi-flavored JBz. The maker of jelly beans has taken the plunge into milk chocolate with its new multi-flavored candy-coated chocolate nuggets.

JBz look like M&Ms. The difference is that the chocolate candy comes in 20 different flavors, including buttered popcorn, sizzling cinnamon, and toasted marshmallow.

"The question that everybody asked after eating one was, 'Why didn't anyone think about putting flavor in chocolate,' " said Jelly Belly spokeswoman Tomi Holt.

The Light Upz lollipops from Frankford Candy.

She said JBz already are available at a few candy retailers and discount retail stores, including SuperTarget, and priced at 2 cents apiece. "JBz will be available in a packaged form toward the end of the year," she added.

M&Ms maker Masterfoods USA could not be reached for comment.

Novelty candy like Frankford Candy's Light Upz -- lollipops that actually light up -- and vitamin-infused tongue tape candy from toymaker Jakks Pacific (JAKK: unchanged at $12.75, Research, Estimates) combine the toy and candy elements into one product.

"Light Upz are an interactive product for kids with a real residual play value," said Kurt Dungan, vice president of marketing with Philadelphia-based Frankford.

"It's really a hard candy molded to a hard plastic sleeve that fits over a durable plastic light stick. It's a fun toy to play with after the candy is gone," he said.

Dungan said the lollipops come in five fruit flavors and will be available in retail stores by the company's fourth quarter this year.

Meanwhile, Jakks Pacific decided to play up the "healthy" angle in its first foray into the candy market with a sugar-free, low-calorie, vitamin-infused flavored tongue tape. It's really a candy version of the popular breath mint strips.

"Looking at the adult mint breath strip market, we saw no similar product for children," Jakks Pacific spokeswoman Genna Goldberg said. "We have several fruit flavored tongue tape candies, but the vitamin and the electrolyte-infused versions are ancillary products geared for a wider audience. We're looking to distribute them to health food stores and gyms."

According to an industry watcher, candy is one product U.S. consumers aren't scrimping on, even in a sour economy. In fact, candy sales rose 1.5 percent in 2002 to $24 billion.

"Candy generally is an inexpensive indulgence," Professional Candy Buyer's Tarantino said. "For 50 cents to a dollar, parents can buy something fun for the kids, or for themselves."

Two jolt gums equal one cup of coffee.

One such product is a new caffeine-energy gum from GumRunners LLC, appropriately called Jolt. Company co-founder Kevin Gass said two pieces of the gum equal one cup of coffee.

"These days Americans are even more caffeine hungry," Gass said. "We wanted to make a product that works, with enough caffeine to power people through their days and nights."

He added, "Because you don't swallow the gum, the caffeine delivery actually works better, entering the body sublingually and straight into the blood."

Incidentally, Jolt gum is the same brand as the caffeine drink Jolt produced by Wet Planet beverages. Both companies have a licensing deal.

While the Jolt tagline claims "All the sugar, twice the caffeine," Hershey Foods is jumping on the sugar-free bandwagon with bite-size sugar-free versions of four popular products -- milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate with almonds and Reese's cups.

"Consumers for years wanted sugar-free versions of our chocolate. Until now, we just hadn't been able to come up with a version that had the same taste and quality as the original product," Hershey spokeswoman Judy Hogarth said.

Even with the sugar cut out of it, there's no stopping the fun in candy, NCA's Fussel said. "Candy makes everyone happy and can be a part of a healthy lifestyle. Just remember it is a treat and eat it in moderation."