Sure, dressing up in costumes is fun, but the real spirit of Halloween is found in candy. Whether you’re planning to go to a party or spend the night binge watching scary movies, odds are candy will be haunting you. Here are a few ghouling facts about popular Halloween candy:
1. Candy wasn’t connected to Halloween until 1970.
Black cats and witches. Pumpkin spice and lattes. Candy and Halloween. It’s hard to believe that at one point not all of these dynamic fall duos went together. Trick-or-treating became popular in the 1940’s, but it wasn’t until 1970 that candy became the solely accepted and distributed treat of Halloween. Before handing out candy became the norm, kids could expect to find toys, money, nuts or baked goods in their holiday hauls by the end of the night. Adults were confused as to what they should give out and candy companies were looking to expand their businesses. The candy industry marketed their products to link them to the holiday, eventually monopolizing Halloween.
2. $2.6 Billion will be spent on Halloween candy this year.
According to the National Retail Federation, spending for Halloween 2018 is expected to reach $9 billion. More than 175 million Americans are to partake in Halloween festivities this year and 95% are planning to buy candy. More candy purchases are planned than purchases of both costumes and decorations.
3. Top sellers nationwide are Skittles, M&M’s and Snickers.
11 years’ worth of data analyzed by bulk candy retailer CandyStore.com determined that Skittles, M&M’s and Snickers are America’s top 3 Halloween Candies. Honorable mentions making the top 10 list are Reese’s Cups, Hershey’s and of course, Candy Corn.
4. In Florida, the most popular candy is Snickers (followed by Skittles and Reese’s Cups).
Floridians will buy over 660,000 pounds of Snickers for Halloween 2018. Snickers were originally called Marathon bars before being renamed after the Mars’ family horse “Snickers” in 1990.
5. M&M’s come in many different flavors, and yes, PSL is one of them.
2 billion M&M’s are produced every eight hours at a Mars’ factory, and these candies have come a long way since they were first produced in 1941. They originally came in 5 colors: red, orange, yellow, green and violet, and they didn’t have the identifying “m” stamp. While trick-or-treaters will most likely receive smaller bags of chocolate (or maybe even peanut) mini M&M’s, the flavors and sizes that the candies come in have grown. Caramel, mint, peanut butter, pumpkin spice and coffee nut are some of the new flavors that exist.
6. Candy corn isn’t just for Halloween.
Candy corn comes in different colors, such as pink, brown, green and white. Candy corn originally called “Chicken Feed” has its own national day on October 30, but can also be found at numerous holidays. While it is considered a Halloween staple, candy corn is seasonal and is made for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter. More than 17,000 tons of candy corn are made each year.