Easter is right around the corner on April 9, and with that comes baskets and egg hunts filled with oodles of candy. Roughly 85% of consumers plan to celebrate Easter this year, and 50% of celebrators intend to buy Easter candies, according to Numerator data.
Numerator’s findings also show that Easter is the second-most popular holiday for purchasing candy, second only to Halloween.
So, which candy is the most popular during this time of year? It’s a twist on a classic, and it’s chocolate-based:
Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs is America’s number one Easter candy, according to an article by Instacart. The peanut butter treat took the top spot in 29 states, including the entire West Coast. Chocolate is extremely popular overall and claims seven of the top 10 spots on Instacart’s list.
According to the aforementioned article, three out of five people planning to purchase candy will purchase chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies. Here’s a look at the full list:
America’s Favorite Easter Candy (top 10 seasonal candies sold via Instacart ):
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
- Kinder Chocolate Candy Egg
- Starburst Easter Jelly Beans
- Lindt Hollow Milk Chocolate Bunny
- Cadbury Easter Creme Egg
- Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Candy Eggs
- Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolate
- Peeps Yellow Marshmallow chicks
- M&Ms Easter Milk Chocolate Candy
- Brach’s Jelly Bird Eggs
It’s not all about chocolate, though. Jellybeans are an Easter favorite, with over half of Instacart’s respondents planning to indulge, and 42% planning to purchase marshmallow chicks.
Tessa Porter, founder of Sprinkk, a candy development and manufacturing company, is a candy aficionado who recently launched her own fruit snack brand called Norma’s, and was a part of the team that invented the NERDS Gummy Clusters. She shared her thoughts on why these candies are so popular during Easter with The Food Institute. She noted:
“All of these Easter favorites are classics or are seasonal variations that amplify the best parts of classic favorites and can only be found once a year.”
“Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs amp up the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate versus a regular Reese’s peanut butter cup,” Porter added, “Starburst Jelly Beans transform the bright, fruity flavors of the favorite fruit chew into the seasonal classic jellybean, and Cadbury Creme Eggs can only be found once a year and offer an amount of cream filling that is unmatched in everyday items.”
The Food Institute Podcast
Click the play button above to listen to the episode.
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