It may not seem like a huge sweets holiday, but the Christmas candy season really is. Think about all the baking and decorating and making fun crafts with kids that happens in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
How many candy canes will you hang from your tree? Do you decorate snowman cookies with sprinkles and peppermint candy? Well, a lot of people do, ok. 🙂 And it all adds up.
So which candy do people like the most? It varies by state.
As a distinguished online bulk candy store, we reached out to CandyStore.com customers to find that out. We got over 30,000 responses this year. We also checked in with our friendly major candy manufacturers and distributors to be sure our survey corresponded with their seasonal observations.
You might be surprised by the results, illustrated above in the interactive candy map.
Reese’s made a major push from last year
Last year, Reese’s Cup Minis, a popular seasonal member of the Reese’s peanut butter cup lineup, took the top spot in just 3 states. This year: Ten. That’s a significant move. Political pundits would call that a Reese’s Wave.
Reese’s Pieces’ count remained at one state, though it changed from Maryland to Montana.
Pez Vanished
Pez was all over the place last year. It was the top candy in 8 states, confounding our readers and us writers too. Was Pez truly that popular, was there some flash phenomenon that boosted them temporarily? In 2018, Pez was the top candy in only 3 states and only showed up in the top 3 five times total!
Reindeer Corn Riding High
Reindeer corn is another big mover in 2018, finishing in the top 3 in 13 different states. Last year, it showed up 3 times total. Obviously, Michigan and Alabama have been on the reindeer corn train for several years now. Maybe all those who laughed at them went out and bought some for themselves.
The National Retail Federation has said that holiday sales will go up by 4.1% this year. That puts total holiday candy sales over $2 Billion, using the National Confectionary Association’s $1.93 Billion estimate from 2017.
With Thanksgiving on the earliest possible day this year, there’s the maximum time possible between Black Friday and Christmas. Add in a high level of consumer confidence and you’ve got a perfect spending storm.
The National Retail Federation projects that the average consumer will spend about $108 on candy and food, which is about twice as much as they’ll spend on decorations, and 5 times what they’ll spend on flowers and potted plants.
