What sweet treats is everyone purchasing for Halloween? We looked to the Top Data team for an answer. They analyzed digital commerce trends to determine the most popular Halloween candy sold in the U.S. and in each state.
Despite the wide, wide range of Halloween candy available on U.S. retailers' shelves, five favorites rose to the top in 49 of our 50 states. (Kentucky was the outlier, choosing Butterfinger as their preferred candy.) Keep reading for the five most popular Halloween candies in America and the top candy in your state. Chances are your favorite Halloween candy is listed.
Top 5 Halloween Candies
No. 1: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
This perennial favorite easily finished first in the candy derby, earning the title of most popular Halloween candy in 18 states, including densely populated ones like California, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. It’s no surprise that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups managed to come in second place in a few states as well, including Delaware and Montana.
If you love that salty-and-sweet peanut-butter-and-chocolate combo but would appreciate a healthier snack, give a TikTok-inspired recipe for chocolate peanut butter rice cakes a try. If you have Reese's leftover post-trick-or-treating, kickstart your holiday baking with peanut butter cup brownies recipe.
No. 2: Kit Kat
Kit Kat was named the top candy in nine states—half the number of states that declared Reese's their favorite—which was enough to secure the breakable candy bar the second spot nationwide. Named the favorite in New York, Nevada, and New Mexico, Kit Kats also have pockets of devoted fans in parts of the South and Northeast. If you're one of those fans, you'll love transforming them into a crispy chocolaty surprise in a Kit Kat-filled angel food cake recipe.
No. 3: Skittles
Skittles is the only non-chocolate treat listed among the five most popular Halloween candies. Five states chose Skittles as their top confection: namely Arizona, Minnesota, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Washington. It also ranked second in a handful of states, among them South Carolina and West Virginia.
No. 4: Original M&M’s
Like Skittles, this classic candy was the favorite in five states and ended up the fourth-most popular sweet treat overall. If you live in Colorado, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Ohio, or Wyoming, you might want to stock up on original M&M's before the trick-or-treaters swing by. If you can't get enough of these candy-coated chocolates, make an M&M popcorn ball. We promise you won’t be disappointed!
No. 5: Snickers
Rounding out the top five most popular Halloween candies nationwide is Snickers. This chocolate bar made with nougat, caramel, and peanuts was the most beloved treat in four states—Alaska, Idaho, North Carolina, and Rhode Island—edging out confections like Starburst, Hot Tamales, and Butterfinger.
Snickers fans rejoice! Celebrate your obsession by making chocolate date bark. No, it's not a Snickers, but the popular TikTok recipe uses Medjool dates for a healthier version that tastes just like your favorite candy bar.
Most Popular Halloween Candy in Each State
To foreshadow what you can expect in your Halloween candy haul, here's a state-by-state rundown of the top candy in each.
So what are we all buying? CandyStore.com has analyzed its sales data for the past 15 years and has determined that the top 10 Halloween candies are, in order from No. 1 to No. 10, Reese's Cups, M&M's, Hot Tamales, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst, Hershey's Kisses, Candy Corn, Hershey's Mini Bars, and Snickers.
So what are we all buying? CandyStore.com has analyzed its sales data for the past 15 years and has determined that the top 10 Halloween candies are, in order from No. 1 to No. 10, Reese's Cups, M&M's, Hot Tamales, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst, Hershey's Kisses, Candy Corn, Hershey's Mini Bars, and Snickers.
“Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Peanut M&M's continue to claim their positions as the top two Halloween favorites across the entire nation,” Instacart trends expert Laurentia Romaniuk told HuffPost in an email, noting that the result “isn't totally a surprise.”
Based on sales data collected by Candystore.com, a bulk candy retailer that has been satisfying America's sweet tooth since 2007, each state has its own favorite treat—but Reese's Cups are America's favorite Halloween candy for 2021. Skittles, M&M's, Starburst and Hot Tamales round out the top five.
In Texas, the most popular is Sour Patch Kids, followed by Reese's Cups and Starburst. Starburst was the most popular, above Sour Patch Kids last year, according to the site, which has been tracking candy sales data for 16 years.
The classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate. It's simple yet mouthwatering for adults and children alike. Reese's is so beloved that it's the top-selling candy brand in America, with more than $2 billion in annual sales.
The most popular Halloween candy in Ohio is Blow Pops with 171,607 pounds sold from 2007 to 2022, according to CandyStore.com. M&M's, meanwhile, took the silver medal in terms of Ohio's favorite candies with 159,547 pounds sold, and Starburst ranked third with 149,207 pounds sold.
Actually, we'll gladly take the majority of these. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were voted the number one most popular Halloween candy in the nation, followed by M&M's and Hot Tamales. These are the candies that are most likely to make it into your bag.
CandyStore.com has been delivering and distributing bulk orders of candy across the country since 2007. Using sales data for the time period before Halloween, the distributor determined which candy was the most popular with the winner being: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Reese's Cups snags the No. 1 spot for the most popular Halloween candy in America, according to Instacart, and perhaps it's the peanut butter that makes people reach for another cup. The serving size of two cups of this sweet treat is 16 grams of sugar.
One surefire prediction for the balance of 2024 is that the perennial favorites will remain at the top of consumers' want lists. They include such famous names as Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, M&Ms, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst and Hershey's Kisses.
As for the United States as a whole, Candy Store says Reese's Cups have again taken the top spot. Total Halloween spending was estimated at $12.2 billion this year, exceeding last year's record of $10.6 billion.
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