Mars is celebrating Halfway to Halloween by unveiling its 2024 Halloween product line-up and findings from the inaugural "Mars Tricks, Treats, and Trends" report.
The "Mars Tricks, Treats, and Trends" report delves into consumer Halloween preferences, uncovering insights and emerging patterns in consumer behavior and purchase decisions leading into, and during, the season. From trick-or-treat plans to Halloween flavor and format preferences, the report provides a first look at this year's anticipated trends. The data also has "spook-tacular" takes on generational Halloween insights.
"At Mars, we celebrate Halloween every day, all year long," says Tim LeBel, chief Halloween officer and president of sales at Mars Wrigley North America. "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."
The new Mars report, developed with Ipsos, looks at attitudes among American adults who plan to celebrate Halloween. The data shows that consumers see candy as the No. 1 contributor to a positive Halloween experience. 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. This number is even higher among Gen Z and Millennials, at 90%, with nearly one-third of Gen Z (32%) planning to go even bigger than last year.
Innovations sparked by evolving taste preferences, including new variety bags
As consumers continue to favor seasonal inspired flavors, Mars Wrigley is adding M&M's Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Pie to its Halloween portfolio. The festive candies feature on-trend pumpkin spice flavors in a milk chocolate shell.
The "Mars Tricks, Treats, and Trends" report also found that a majority of consumers who plan to purchase candy (55%) look for variety bags with a blend of fruity and chocolate candies—and this year, Mars is meeting the demand with variety bags that mix Mars brands like Twix, Snickers, Life Savers Gummies, and Skittles Gummies. The 75% of candy purchasers who look to celebrate Halloween with fun size candies can rest assured—fun size remains the star of Mars Halloween variety bags.
The complete 2024 Halloween product lineup includes:
- NEW: M&M's Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
- NEW: Redesigned Snickers Pumpkins packaging
- Mars Wrigley mixed variety bags, with offerings like gummy and chocolate together
- Twix Ghoulish Green
- Snickers Ghoulish Green
- M&M's Ghouls blend in Milk Chocolate, Peanut, and Peanut Butter
- Snickers Fun Size Bucket
- Gen Z as "Halloween Heroes"
The "Mars Tricks, Treats, and Trends" report revealed that enthusiasm for Halloween is driving consumers to plan for Halloween earlier. Gen Z celebrates Halloween early and often—36% of Gen Z Americans who plan to celebrate Halloween plan for the holiday more than a month in advance, and some Gen Z'ers are already planning for Halloween now. They are also most likely to make multiple trips to purchase candy (17%) throughout the season compared to other age groups.
A treat for you, a treat for me
The "Mars Tricks, Treats, and Trends" report also shows that more than three-quarters (76%) of consumers who plan to celebrate Halloween purchase candy to give out through trick-or-treating or in bowls for hosting, and more than half purchase to self-treat (53%).
While chocolate reigns supreme, gummies are a fan favorite
Whether consumers self-treat or give candy to trick-or-treaters, chocolate is the reigning favorite flavor of Halloween. However, the report reveals emerging preferences. While chocolate is generally preferred among all candy purchasers (88%), gummies are a favorite among younger generations (56% Millennials and 60% Gen Z)
The Mars report and new additions to its Halloween product lineup reflect the company's commitment to innovation, quality, and delighting consumers with their favorite flavors and preferences.
Ipsos survey methodology:
These are some findings from an Ipsos survey, conducted on behalf of Mars, Incorporated, among n=2,256 adults in the U.S., age 18 and up, who indicate plans to celebrate Halloween. The survey was conducted online, in English, between April 11-16, 2024. The starting sample for the survey was a representative sample of n=3,000 U.S. adults, including an oversample of n=105 Gen Z adults, who were then screened on how, if at all, they plan to celebrate Halloween. The credibility interval, a measure of precision used for online, non-probability polls, for this survey is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Mars is on the current Candy Industry “Global Top 100 Candy Companies” list. Click here to view the current “Global Top 100” rankings.
