Spooky season brings yummy treats, scary decorations, fun costumes, and great memories. Nothing beats the buckets loads of sweet and sour candy collected on Halloween waiting to be taken back home, dumped on the floor, traded, and then consumed.

But due to backed up supply chains and shortages in ingredients, candies from kit-kats to kisses are suffering. CEO of Hersey, Michele Buck, said “[We’re] now starting to see bigger concerns relative to scarcity of ingredients [and] needing to leverage different suppliers at higher cost and price points in order to secure production.”

This being said, will lead to an increase in prices. Regardless, candy revenue was around $3.1 billion. A major factor to the combined fact of candy companies struggling but record high demand and revenue, is Covid. This year is the second in a row for an increase and exceeds pre-COVID levels. From 2019 to 2020 Halloween candy sales dipped by 19% due to fear of germs and disease. No more bowls of suckers or hard candies were laid out at work nor were there face to face interactions of handing out Halloween candy. But now people are eager to get back into the swing of everyday life and social traditions that were taken away during the height of COVID.

Additionally, though the shortage isn’t too noticeable to the common consumer, candy companies, like many others across the world, are struggling to get back to meeting quotas, supply issues, and finding enough workers. Despite worry was in the air, demands were able to be met this Holiday season.

When it comes to distribution, companies have to be a lot more strategic than one may think. One factor taken into consideration, favorite candy by state. The following information will just be regarding states in the Midwest over the last 15 years.

Michigan – The top-rated candy for 2022 was Starbursts with 108928 pounds bought.

Ohio – The top-rated candy was M&M’s at 154231 pounds bought.

Indiana – The top-rated candy was Starburst with 92811 pounds bought.

Illinios – The top-rated candy was Sour Patch Kids at 152928 pounds.

Missouri – The top-rated candy was Milky Way at 45281 pounds.

Kansas – The top-rated candy in this state is M&M’s at about 211098 pounds.

Nebraska – The top-rated candy is Sour Patch Kids with 89281 pounds bought.

South Dakota – The top-rated candy is Jolly Ranchers at 24128 pounds.

North Dakota – The top-rated is Hot Tamales with about 59872 pounds bought.

Minnesota – The top-rated candy is Hot Tamales at 175726 pounds.

Wisconsin – The top-rated candy is Butterfinger with about 104829 pounds.

Iowa – The top-rated candy is M&M’s with about 65779 pounds bought.

These may come as a surprise and they may not, the sweet vs sour debate is never ending. The country as a whole had its own list of favorites which included, Hot Tamales in 5^th, Starbursts in 4^th, M&M’s in 3^rd, Skittles in 2^nd, and finally, Reese’s Cups in 1^st. The National Retail Federation reports total Halloween spending is expected to be around $10.6 billion, this includes candy, costumes, and decorations. Last year the total was $10.1 billion, which was a record in itself. This year’s $3.1 billion spent on candy sets a new record as well.

With an evolving world, companies are working around the clock to concoct new flavors and candy as a whole. People are starting to lean toward sugar-free hard candies, such as lifesavers or Werther’s Original. Additionally, organic hard candies are starting to stick as well.

As October ends, regardless if you believe it is time to start celebrating Christmas or Thanksgiving, Halloween traditions and candies will always have a sweet (or sour) spot in our hearts. As Covid took its toll on everyone, it’s good to see the numbers where they are demonstrating people’s eagerness to get back to how things were.

Images found on: https://www.nbcboston.com/entertainment/the-scene/map-reveals-most-popular-halloween-candy-in-each-state-for-2022/2860615/  and  https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/10/18/halloween-candy-sales-up-23-for-2022-top-pre-covid-levels/69571629007/