Revisit
the Sweetest
Candy Insights

The candy craze captured more consumers than ever as they progressed through the costumes of Halloween season to the romance of Valentine’s Day. Seasonal candy sales remained up over 20% from the previous year and over 30% higher than two years ago. While this growth can be primarily attributed to a continually growing buy rate in the category, household penetration also remained up compared to years past. 

Everyday candy proved that a sweet tooth is not only limited to holidays. Sales of non-seasonal candy – which make up the bulk of overall candy sales throughout the year– also remained elevated versus YA and 2YA for the last 6 months. This was driven by higher buy rates per household and a small increase in overall household penetration.

Seasonal candy promotions felt a sugar rush to close out 2021. Total promoted products within the seasonal candy category were up roughly 20% late last year versus both 2020 and 2019. These increases were seen most significantly early in the season, with promoted products up over 200% in July versus year-ago. Promotions for everyday candy remained up as well, even more significantly than seasonal candy.

Advertising looked a little less sweet to close out 2021, with overall ad spend & occurrences down in the candy category. While candy related ad occurrences remained moderately down, candy ad spend was down even more significantly.