Candy Brands Try to Overcome the Pandemic This Halloween

This Halloween had a lot going for it in terms of being an optimal day for spooky celebrations. The holiday lands on a Saturday with a full moon, for starters. Plus, daylight saving comes to an end in the wee hours of Nov. 1, giving revelers an extra hour to stay up late eating candy and bingeing horror flicks. This convergence of events is so rare that it won’t happen again for at least another century and a half, according to the Halloween Industry Association, a trade group formed to promote the holiday. Unfortunately, the current public health crisis has dampened the Halloween spirit. To help slow the spread of Covid-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned against traditional trick-or-treating. Haunted houses, hayrides with strangers and crowded indoor costume parties are also out. Hosting an outdoor scary movie night is less risky—assuming attendees remain six feet apart—but “if screaming will likely occur,” the agency explains on its website, “greater distancing is advised.” In the weeks leading up to Halloween 2019, total U.S. candy sales hit $4.6 billion, according to the National Confectioners Association, whose members include industry heavyweights Mars, Ferrero and Hershey’s. That dollar amount is larger than those generated by Valentine’s Day ($3.5 billion), Easter ($3.5 billion) and the winter holidays ($4.5 billion). But between Sept. 1 and Oct. 11 this year, candy ad spend across TV, digital and print was down 22% compared to last year, according to data intelligence platform MediaRadar. To overcome the obstacles this year has presented, candy brands are approaching Halloween by embracing what the day is all about: creativity and imagination. “It used to be we get the kids to the candy,” said Marcia Mogelonsky, director of insight for market researcher Mintel’s food and drink division. “Now they're trying to get the candy to the kids.” Hershey’s-owned Reese’s has created a remote-controlled, 9-foot-tall robotic door that drives and dispenses king-size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. When the device detects someone say "trick or treat," it delivers the candy through its mail slot. Sour Patch Kids, owned by Mondelēz International, is orchestrating a “reverse trick-or-treat experience” where the brand will deliver bags of candy to lucky households in 12 U.S. cities. Mars Wrigley, maker of M&M’s, Snickers and Skittles, created a virtual world that allows people to give and receive candy from home through October. In an app called Treat Town, users select a Halloween-themed profile, then knock on other doors within the platform’s universe. Digital candy amounts to credits that can be exchanged for physical treats at select retailers. By mid-October, more than 100,000 people had downloaded Treat Town, according to the company. “We’re trying to simulate trick-or-treating as much as possible and tap into some of the fun rituals,” Chris Brody, brand content and communications architect at Mars, told Adweek prior to the app’s Oct. 1 debut. “We have users and candy credit sales in every state,” he added. Candy brands are also creating content and activities for families to celebrate safely at home. Ferrero, owner of Butterfinger, Crunch and Baby Ruth, is posting a new way to enjoy Halloween on Pinterest every day in October, with help from influencer partners. Reese's has created a door that will deliver treats directly to kids. “Parents are always ingenious and creative when it comes to their children and the joy of their children, but our approach is to add to that,” said Mark Wakefield, svp of marketing for Nutella and chocolate snacks at Ferrero North America. Work for the initiative began in the summer months when the brand realized it needed to plan for a different type of Halloween. As evident in both strategies, Mars Wrigley and Ferrero are trying to broaden Halloween into a monthlong celebration. But the industry's attempt to extend this year's festivities goes beyond just October. Hershey's, for instance, began shipping seasonal candy to retailers a few weeks sooner than normal to jump-start the season. Likewise, Wakefield said Ferrero worked to get its products "on the floor of the store early." Hershey’s also assembled a Halloween squad. The team intends to produce tips for celebrating this abnormal Halloween season, such as ways to enhance a virtual costume party and step-by-step instructions for building a candy slide. All content is hosted on hersheyhappiness.com, a site the company introduced in August. Although the site is mainly dedicated to Halloween games and recipes now, the plan is to expand coverage to all holidays. “Our weekly consumer insights indicate there have been more at-home activities—from movie nights to Halloween crafts,” said Alex Corcoran, senior director of seasons, partnerships and occasions marketing at The Hershey Co. "The many ways of celebrating calls for a broader range of individual treats, candy assortments, baking and snacking across our brands." Halloween represents about 10% of Hershey’s annual sales, but only half is from trick-or-treating. The rest is from buying candy to fill party bowls and snacking. Total candy sales might be fine this year due to shoppers who want a sense of normalcy. For the week ending Oct. 10, “Halloween decorations” was the most searched term on Amazon, according to data from ecommerce analytics firm Profitero, compared to sixth place in 2019. Numbers provided by the National Confectioners Association show this interest is turning into revenue, too. As of Oct. 4, year-over-year Halloween-themed chocolate and candy sales were up 8.6%. Figures from Instacart also show that searches for “Halloween candy” were 22% higher this September compared to the same time last year. Mogelonsky is optimistic that Halloween candy purchases will end on a positive note. Members of the public can be stubborn—and resilient—about their traditions. As Mogelonsky put it: “I think sales will be up because we don’t like being told what to do.”

Life in Quarantine

Candy Brands Are Trying to Solve the Halloween Pandemic Puzzle

Trick-or-treating and other traditional ways of celebrating are off the table

Paul Hiebert

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Paul Hiebert