It's Not Even Summer Yet but This Popular Candy Company Is Already Preparing for Halloween

Stacey Leasca
·3 min read

Spooky season is coming sooner than you think.

<p>Food & Wine / Mars</p>

Food & Wine / Mars

We haven’t even officially hit summer yet, but Mars Wrigley is already gearing up for spooky season.

On Tuesday, the candy company released its product lineup for Halloween 2024, and it includes a bunch of brand-new goodies you’ll want to put in your trick-or-treat bag.

“At Mars, we celebrate Halloween every day, all year long,” Tim LeBel, the chief Halloween officer and president of sales at Mars Wrigley North America, shared in a statement. “Our 2024 Mars Wrigley Halloween product line-up is a direct reflection of our consumer obsession and offers a playful blend of taste, creativity, and on-trend seasonal offerings to deliver products we know will end up in the ‘good’ pile on Halloween night.”

That lineup includes the brand-new M&M’s Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, which is set to hit store shelves soon to give people a taste of the “sweater weather” to come. The company is also bringing back fan favorites like Twix Ghoulish Green, M&M’s Ghouls in Milk Chocolate, and Snickers Pumpkins, which are also coming with a brand-new look. And it also announced it's expanding its variety bag offerings this year, going “even bigger with its blends of fruity and chocolate candies to meet shifting consumer preferences.”

Related: 17 Halloween Recipes Celebrating Gourds, Ghouls, Candy, and Fall Spices

As for how it figured out those consumer preferences, Mars Wrigley says it did so through its  inaugural Mars Tricks, Treats and Trends report, which showcases the “emerging patterns in consumer behavior and purchase decisions related to Halloween season.”

<p>Mars</p> For Halloween, Mars Wrigley is debuting M&M’s Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Pie — and bringing back fan favorites like Twix Ghoulish Green, M&M’s Ghouls in Milk Chocolate, and Snickers Pumpkins, which are coming with a brand-new look.

Mars

For Halloween, Mars Wrigley is debuting M&M’s Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Pie — and bringing back fan favorites like Twix Ghoulish Green, M&M’s Ghouls in Milk Chocolate, and Snickers Pumpkins, which are coming with a brand-new look.

“Our data shows that consumers see candy as the number one contributor to a positive Halloween experience,” the brand shared in a statement. “And while the National Retail Foundation predicted that a record number of Americans would celebrate Halloween in 2023, the ‘Mars Tricks, Treats and Trends’ report found that 85% of those planning to celebrate Halloween this year either plan to go bigger or retain similar plans compared to last year.”

Related: 9 Halloween Cocktails That Are All Treats, Not Tricks

The number, the report found, is even higher for those in the Gen Z and Millennial demographic. As the report stated, some 90% of people in these age groups plan to celebrate Halloween — which falls on a Thursday — this year.

Additionally, the report found that more than half of consumers who plan to celebrate also plan to purchase candy as a “self-treat” too. Though what that self-treat is depends on your generation. As the findings stated, “While chocolate is generally preferred among all candy purchasers (88%), gummies are a favorite among younger generations (56% Millennials and 60% Gen Z).” But it’s ok if you want to make a multi-generational candy bowl this year. No one would be mad at that. 

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