Six Candy Companies Promise Not To Advertise To Kids

Six companies have become charter participants of a new self-regulatory initiative aimed at promoting responsible advertising towards children. Under the Children's Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI), participating companies agree to not advertise directly to children under the age of 12 or advertise their candy in school to children in kindergarten through sixth grade.

The companies are 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, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus. They join six other confectionary companies that are Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) participants: American Licorice Company, Ferrero USA, The Hershey Company, Mars, Incorporated, Mondelez International, and Nestlé.

"CCAI follows the same principles as CFBAI, but is designed for small-to-medium size confectionery companies and has fewer administrative requirements than CFBAI," said Maureen Enright, director of CCAI and deputy director of CFBAI. "All CCAI participants are making the same commitment – to not engage in child-directed advertising. CFBAI will independently monitor compliance and will publish periodic compliance reports, as it does for CFBAI."

Companies participating in CCAI and CFBAI make up the majority of the candy found on store shelves in the United States.