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CANDY EXPO | Put your picture or message on M&M's

Candy makers are getting personal. That's one trend clear from this week's All Candy Expo at McCormick Place.

Some 2,000 candy and snack food items are being shown to buyers Tuesday through Thursday at the National Confectioners Association show.

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James Cass, V.P. and General Manager of MARS direct, holds a MandM candy with his picture on it. This new product can be ordered with either pictures or praises printed on them.
(Keith Hale/Sun-Times)

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Among the new offerings were ways to customize your candy.

You can create a special Kiss. The Hershey's Co. is offering the ability to customize its chocolate Kisses, letting customers pick from a collection of messages to be printed on the paper plume.

The company is exploring allowing the customers to create original messages, said Jody Cook, a spokesperson.

Mars is taking its already popular special-order M&Ms beyond messages or custom colors. How about your own picture on M&M's chocolate candies? You can do that starting next month, when Mars Snackfood U.S. allows customers to have the candies imprinted with their images.

Upload a photo portrait at MyMms.com, create a message and choose from about 17 colors.

In addition, Mars' Dove Promises chocolates can be ordered with personalized messages on the wrappers, at Mydovechocolate.com.

Mars also is courting chocolate lovers with a premium version of M&Ms, which will have a softer candy shell, the company announced Tuesday.