Wholesale Italian Licorice

Italian licorice is a tradition of its own, a long way from Dutch drop and even further from American red licorice. The flavor centers on real licorice root extract. It’s earthy and a little sweet, often with anise and mint. Formats go from soft gummies and pastilles to firm chewy tubes and hard extract pieces. We carry 35 SKUs from Menozzi De Rosa and Italgum. Mangini and Serra are here, and Gerrit and Sperlari too. Cases run 0.31 to 2.2 lb.

Menozzi De Rosa: the pure licorice specialist

Menozzi De Rosa is the name that serious licorice buyers ask for. The Pure Hard Licorice Spazzatina comes about as close to raw licorice extract as a retail-ready piece can. They’re small, firm bits of concentrated licorice root with no sugar coating and no added flavors. The Tortiglioni Chewy Black Licorice Sticks and Tubetti Chewy Black Licorice Tubes give you softer formats from the same maker. They move in specialty food stores, and with buyers who grew up on artisan Italian licorice.

Italgum: the anise-and-mint licorice line

Italgum has the widest mix of shapes in the category. Their signature move is black licorice with anise and mint. The Pesce Medio Soft Black Licorice Fish all use it, as do the Orsetti Neri Black Licorice Bears and Tartarughe Black Licorice Turtles. So do the Soft Black Licorice Berry pieces. Licorice Pastilles (Brutti e Buoni, literally ‘ugly but good’) are a classic Italian format. They’re irregular and rustic, built on a dense licorice paste.

Italgum also makes the Licorice & Bee Pollen Mini Gum Drops (Propolis), sold on their bee pollen and propolis content. The sugar-free line has Sugar-Free Black Licorice Berry (More Light) and Sugar-Free Black Licorice Fish (Pesce Light).

Mangini’s licorice formats

Mangini brings its mini-candy style to licorice. The Gessetti Salmiak Filled Licorice has a salmiak center, the Italian version of filled salty licorice. Bye Liquirizia Mini Licorice Candy are small single pieces sized for a bulk bin or bag. The Sugar-Free Licorice Candy (Liquirizia Zero+) finishes off Mangini’s zero-sugar range. Two pastilles add some range. Facmenta Mint Pastilles have a licorice center, and so do the Coreani Fruit Pastilles. Both suit buyers who want licorice as a part of the taste and not the whole thing.

Forms and formats

It comes bulk, bagged or boxed. The bulk items suit a pick-and-mix or self-serve bin. Bagged items, including several Mangini 150g retail bags, can go straight to the shelf. Boxed formats fit a specialty food display or a gift set. With that many packaging choices, import grocers find it easy to slot in across different parts of a store.

Who buys Italian licorice wholesale

• Italian specialty stores and delis already know Menozzi De Rosa pure licorice and Italgum pastilles. Their customers come in asking for Italian black licorice.
• An import grocer with a European candy section can pair Italian licorice with Italian hard candy and chocolate.
• Natural food shops may take to the propolis and bee pollen items, and to the pure licorice extract pieces.
• A candy shop with self-serve bins will like the soft Italgum fish and bears. The turtles do well in pick-and-mix too.

Italian licorice in the broader European licorice context

People building a European licorice section sometimes skimp on Italian licorice because Dutch and Swedish imports are better known in North America. We think that’s a mistake if Italian specialty buyers shop with you. Menozzi De Rosa pure licorice and Italgum anise-mint shapes have a following of their own, and it doesn’t overlap much with the Dutch drop crowd. An Italian-American customer after Italian black licorice won’t take Gustaf allsorts instead.

The Italgum Propolis gum drops and the Menozzi De Rosa pure licorice pieces are the two that natural food buyers tend to pick up. Put them in that kind of shop next to the plain confection items and one category gets two kinds of shoppers.

Display tips

Shelf options are flexible with this much variety. The Mangini 150g retail bags can sit on an ordinary confection shelf with no extra work, and the Italgum bulk shapes go in self-serve bins. The Menozzi De Rosa items suit a specialty food setting best, maybe with a small shelf card about the producer. Use all three approaches in your Italian section and it gets more depth than a single format would.

Pairing Italian licorice with Italian hard candy and chocolate

Italian licorice picks up where Italian hard candy and Italian chocolate leave off. Someone who comes in for Mangini hard candy will probably look at the Mangini licorice too, since it’s the same brand in another format. The Italgum fish and bears also look good beside the colorful Fruttini hard candy balls on a pick-and-mix wall. Keep Italian licorice within reach of the hard candy and chocolate and the section looks planned, not scattered.

Ordering

There’s no minimum order, and cases run 0.31 to 2.2 lb. Checkout is secure by card, and approved accounts get account pricing. We ship within the US. The Italian candy catalog has Italy’s hard candy and chocolate. Confetti, mints and gummies are in there too. Comparing Italian licorice with Dutch or Swedish imports? The wholesale licorice category puts every origin in one place. Start your first case through bulk candy wholesale.

Frequently Asked Questions