This year, it seems like Halloween confectionery stock has moved into stores particularly early. This safeguard from a second spike looks like the confectionery sector senses tougher restrictions on the way that might prevent celebrators partying within their social bubble. 

Besides, even if Halloween go-ers wear the scariest mask they can find, the virus still poses a risk. With so many people in fear of Covid-19, how will the confectionery industry manage this intolerance of strangers who could pose a threat of infection.

The Halloween season, which the National Confectionery Association defines as the eight weeks leading up to 31 October, accounts for $4.6bn in US confectionery sales each year. 
That is more than any other holiday season, including Christmas. With new avenues opened up to consumers, thanks to ecommerce and direct-to-consumer services, consumers are making more informed decisions about what items they’ll buy to celebrate the season. 

Families could be enjoying socially distant events and family movie nights and might be planning ahead to focus on sensible packaging that suits sharing over portability. For example, party-size bags of sugar confectionery may get sidelined to make way for baked goods and larger packs of chocolate, due to the current cocooning trend.

During the pandemic, consumers have gravitated towards food associated with comfort and familiarity. Grabbing the most popular snacks in wholesale quantities has been a habit for American families to treat visitors to their neighbourhood. Considering this, what will Americans fill their piñatas and platter bowls up with this Halloween? 

According to Mondelez, the company behind Oreo cookies and candies such as Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish, holiday-themed novelty confectionery out-sell its traditionally packaged counterparts. This year, with fewer people visiting the stores, Mondelez is focusing on best-sellers across its brands in family-size packs for sharing at gatherings rather than large-scale trick-or-treating.

Chocolate is one of the most resilient snack categories in the country. It is the only category in the confectionery sector that GlobalData expects to grow until 20245. Moreover, the swing towards an indulgent diet across the country may see that sales of Halloween chocolate continue to rise throughout the rest of the year, taking a glory, Halloween bite out of other categories in the snack market.

For more insight and data, visit the GlobalData Consumer Intelligence Centre