Halloween is a time for costumes, creeping and, even as adults, candy. But before you reach for your typical Snickers or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup for a quick energy boost in the spirit of spooky season, take a look around to see what else is available by the register.
It is an exciting time for candy.
Some worthwhile candy has hit national shelves in the recent couple years, including Milka’s Oreo Chocolate Bar, Reese’s Outrageous, Sweetarts Soft & Chewy Ropes, Hershey’s Cookie Layer Crunch Bars and “Crunchers.”
Brands like Reese’s have been experimenting with minor changes, such as increasing sizes seen in their new “big cups” or combining their branded candies such as their peanut butter cups with Reese’s Pieces or Oreo pieces swirled inside. Starburst has gone the opposite direction shrinking their candies into tiny, unwrapped versions that provide convenience of the beloved flavor in one bag with less unwrapping hassle.
For those willing to truly try something new, several brands like Kit Kat, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and Twix now regularly offer white and dark chocolate versions of their classically milk chocolate bars which offers a slight deviance from the beloved favorites.
For the first time in 22 years, Hershey deviated from their beloved bar and created Hershey Gold, a golden colored “carmelized creme” bar with peanuts and pretzels throughout.
For the first time in six years, Three Musketeers came out with a new flavor – Birthday Cake – that can be found in Walmart stores now and all retailers beginning in 2019. Milky Way has done the same for the first time in eight years, with the introduction of a new flavor, Milky Way Fudge, in April.
2017 saw an interesting American collection of favorite candies adapted to famous state fairs, like Key Lime Pie Twizzlers for Florida and BBQ-flavored Payday bars for Texas.
In addition to slight changes and new flavors, the increase in competition of “healthy” and “organic” treats in the recent years has caused candy companies to concoct creative flavors and hold contests to keep consumers interested in their sweets.
A couple noteable limited edition flavor contests of 2018 were put forth by M&Ms and Snickers. M&M fans had the option to vote between Crunchy Mint, Crunchy Raspberry, and Crunchy Espresso. Crunchy Mint edged out the other two with its classic and refreshing flavor, and so can still be found in grocery stores today. Previously fans voted Coffee Nut as a permanent flavor over Chili Nut and Honey Nut.
Snickers also held a competition between three flavors – Espresso, Fiery (chili pepper) and Salty Sweet – that ended with a Salty Sweet win. Interested sweet tooths are still able to find all losing flavors online and winning flavors in the check-out aisle.
The M&M Chilli Nut and Snickers Fiery options continue a trend of making a spicy variety of typically sweet products. Skittles and Starburst now both offer “sweet heat” packages with flavors like “Sizzlin’ Strawberry” and “Flamin’ Orange” adding an extra kick to original favorites.
While M&M does not currently offer a “hot” flavor, they have a couple limited edition releases for the autumn season – Pecan Pie and Cookies N’ Screeem. These are a temporary addition to the year-round flavor line, which semi-recently added a permanent Caramel option to its signature Peanut Butter, Crispy, etc. Also released this fall is a White Chocolate Peanut M&M and M&M chocolate bars.
Twizzlers also features a wide selection of flavors and types of licorice. Their Halloween twist is a mix of orange and black cherry, but their flavors beyond classic strawberry and cherry like Chocolate and Sweet & Sour Filled should not be overlooked.
The candy industry does not plan to slow down in 2019. Consumers can expect to see Hazelnut Spread M&Ms, Creamy Maple Almond Butter Snickers and so much more, so keep your eyes on the candy aisle. Consider trying something new – you may end up finding your new favorite sweet. And don’t forget, it will probably be clearanced on Nov. 1.
