Mars is celebrating the halfway point to Halloween with not only the reveal of its Halloween lineup, but also the release of its inaugural "Mars Tricks, Treats and Trends" report.
The "Mars Tricks, Treats and Trends" report, developed with Ipsos, delves into attitudes among American adults who plan to celebrate Halloween, examining consumer preferences and emerging patterns in consumer behavior, as well as 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 "spook-tacular" takes on generational Halloween insights.
Data from the report shows that consumers see candy as the No. 1 contributor to a positive Halloween experience. Additionally, the report showed that 85% of those planning to celebrate Halloween this year either plan to go bigger or retain similar plans compared to last year. This number is even higher among Gen Z and Millennials at 90%, with nearly one-third of Gen Z (32%) planning to go even bigger than last year.
The "Mars Tricks, Treats and Trends" report also revealed that enthusiasm for Halloween is driving consumers to plan for Halloween earlier. Gen Z celebrates Halloween early and often—36% of Gen Z Americans who plan to celebrate Halloween plan for the holiday more than a month in advance, and some Gen Zers are already planning for Halloween now. They are also most likely to make multiple trips to purchase candy (17%) throughout the season compared to other age groups.
While chocolate continues to reign as a crowd favorite, data from the report also showed that gummies are a favorite among younger generations (56% Millennials and 60% Gen Z).
Mars also debuted its 2024 lineup of Halloween candy, which includes:
- New product: M&M'S milk chocolate pumpkin pie.
- New product: Redesigned Snickers pumpkins packaging.
- Mars Wrigley mixed variety bags, with offerings like gummy and chocolate together.
- Twix ghoulish green.
- Snickers ghoulish green.
- M&M'S ghouls blend in milk chocolate, peanut and peanut butter.
- Snickers fun size bucket.
The "Mars Tricks, Treats and Trends" report can be found here.