Ah yes, Halloween.
The "most important" holiday of the year.... the one that candy makers absolutely love.
Halloween is the highest-grossing holiday for confectioners of sweets....
"Halloween is undoubtedly the most sugar-fueled time of the year. You know it, teachers know it, your kids know it, and the candy industry certainly knows it. But they’re not dwelling on thoughts of amped up, bunny-like energy; sticky fingers; or counting calories like parents or teachers might be—they’re too busy counting something else: their earnings."
So, what types of sweets are folks buying in 2013?
According to an article I found, here's the answer to that question, based on a survey from the National Confectioners Association (AKA: the people who know... really know... their candies):
72.0% chocolate
12.0% candy corn
6.0% gummy candy
4.5% chewy candy
2.0% hard candy
1.5% lolipops
1.5% licorice
0.5% gums/mints
what a shock to see candy corn at #2!! I know that it's a Halloween delicacy, but it's just not conducive to being passed out to trick-or-treaters.
This is our girls' combined candy haul from tonight:
not a single pack of candy corn! People must be eating this stuff by the handful around home and the workplace, cause it's sure not going to the T-or-T'ers.
another article I found takes that top category.... sweet, delicious, glorious chocolate.... and gives the top-ten sellers:
10- Almond Joy
9- Milky Way
8- Hershey Cookies-n-Cream
7- 3 Musketeers
6- Twix
5- Kit Kat
4- Hershey Bar
3- Snickers
2- M&M's
1- Reese's
Almond Joy is my favorite on this list. But a lot of people don't like coconut. So I'm not surprised it's #9. Honestly, I'm surprised it made the top 10.
#1-#4 don't surprise me at all.
#8.... what the heck is that doing on the list?
It simply is amazing to think how much candy is made, then sold, for Halloween. $2.3 BILLION dollars worth. Note: that's a freakin' lot!
"We agree you shouldn't have too much sugar in your diet, but this is one time a year and we don't think this has an impact on people's diets." (Larry Graham, President, National Confectioners Association)
Halloween. Candy manufacturers' favorite holiday.
And dentists' too!
Out for now.....
Matt