Mars Drops Halloween Lineup, Jumping Ahead of Summer

There’s a little over 160 days until Halloween and over 20 days until summer. So, tell me why Mars unveiled its product lineup for Halloween 2024. The candy company is gearing up spooky season with some treats for your trick-or-treat bag or in some cases pillowcase.

“At Mars, we celebrate Halloween every day, all year long,” said 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 lineup includes the brand-new M&M’s Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, which is set to hit store shelves soon to give people a taste of the “sweater weather” to come. The company is also bringing back fan favorites like Twix Ghoulish Green, M&M’s Ghouls in Milk Chocolate, and Snickers Pumpkins, which are also coming with a brand-new look. And it also announced it's expanding its variety bag offerings this year, going “even bigger with its blends of fruity and chocolate candies to meet shifting consumer preferences.”

To figure out what consumer preferences are for spooky season candy, Mars Wrigley released its annual Mars Tricks, Treats, and Trends report. It dives 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 takes on generational Halloween insights.

“Our data shows that consumers see candy as the number one contributor to a positive Halloween experience,” the brand shared in a statement. “And 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.” 

The number, the report found, is even higher for those in the Gen Z and Millennial demographic. As the report stated, some 90% of people in these age groups plan to celebrate Halloween.

Additionally, the report found that more than half of consumers who plan to celebrate also plan to purchase candy as a “self-treat” too. Though what that self-treat is depends on your generation. As the findings stated, “While chocolate is generally preferred among all candy purchasers (88%), gummies are a favorite among younger generations (56% Millennials and 60% Gen Z).”

Check out the full report here.