• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Food
  • Health
  • Money
  • Pets
  • Moms
  • Style
  • Travel
  • Books
  • KLG & Hoda
  • Video
  • More
    • Comics & Games
    • Concert Series
    • Good News!
    • Hip2Save
    • Horoscope
    • Lotto
    • Photo Features
    • Relationships
    • Rossen Reports
    • Tech
    • Weather
  • Recommended: Budget brides save by buying canceled weddings
  • Recommended: So your kid wants a credit card. What do you do now?
  • Recommended: Great Recession will haunt millions into their retirement years, study finds
  • Recommended: Big Brother may not be watching, but your employer probably is


Life Inc. is about how the economy is affecting you: your life, your job, your family, your finances, your spending. Check us out on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • Advertise | AdChoices
    23
    Oct
    2012
    3:27pm, EDT

    Best candy to hand out on Halloween? The Internet has spoken!

    featurepics.com

    Ahhh, good ol' candy corn: Love it or hate it, the iconic Halloween treat is the most-searched-for sweet on Google.

    By Meghan Holohan, TODAY contributor

    In the realm of trick-or-treating, apples are lame and Necco Wafers are even lamer. (What are those things, anyway — sugared cardboard?)

    So what should you hand out to trick-or-treaters to assure your house doesn't land on the egging list? We've consulted the Internet and some candy stores in order to help you hand out the treats children want.

    Based on sheer volume of Facebook likes, Skittles are the most popular candy, with 23.55 million people giving it the thumbs up. Starburst (11.5 million likes), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (10 million likes), Kit Kat (9.4 million likes), and Twix (5.16 million likes) round out the top five most drooled-over treats on Facebook.

    Google searches also shed light on people’s sugary cravings and curiosities. Candy corn, Gummy Bears and Snickers are the top three most-searched-for sweets overall. Interestingly, trick-or-treaters in Colorado might enjoy their Halloween hauls more because residents there really research their candy — the state boasts the highest number of Google searches for Halloween treats.

    Californians should be prepared to bring home lots of organic candy because that state ranks highest in Google searches for such healthy treats. And kids in Washington should brace themselves: their state has the highest number of Google searches for sugar-free candy.

    featurepics.com

    Internet searches and Facebook likes indicate what sorts of treats are on people's minds this Halloween season.

    Kristi Holmes, owner of The Confectionery in Seattle, said she doesn't think the Google search results accurately depict what Washingtonians want: “We do have sugar-free [candy], but it is more people who are diabetic and who are eating sugar-free [and low-carb diets] who buy it.”

    Holmes noted that candy corn remains one of the most popular seasonal items at her store. “Our store sells almost 600 pounds [of candy corn] in two months,” she said.

    Meanwhile, chocolate-loving Ohio residents search for candy bars more often than people in other states, while Wisconsin residents tend to search for gummy worms and North Carolina residents love researching jelly beans — a year-round favorite across the country thanks to gourmet options.

    “We've had a ton of people come in for the Jelly Belly [candies],” said Hailey Buehler, an employee at Blickenstaff's toy and candy store in Provo, Utah. “The orange has been quite popular and other fall colors, as well.”

    Want another reliable way to predict treat trends? Consider the weather. The worst U.S. drought in more than 50 years has caused the price of corn oil and high fructose corn syrup to spike this year, increasing candy costs by about 3 percent from last year — so it should be no surprise if the kids’ Halloween plunder looks smaller on Oct. 31. And forget about handing out apples or enjoying a glass of apple cider; apple prices have increased between 20 and 30 percent over last year.

    Here are the full lists of popular candies on the Internet this year:

    Facebook results for candy
    Here are the top 10 most-liked treats on Facebook:

    1. Skittles, 23.55 million likes

    2. Starburst, 11.5 million likes

    3. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, 10 million likes

    4. Kit Kat, 9.4 million likes

    5. Twix, 5.16 million likes

    6. Snickers, 4.8 million likes

    7. M&M'S, 4 million likes

    8. Sour Patch Kids, 3.89 million likes

    9. Life Savers Gummies, 3.28 million likes

    10. Hershey’s Kisses, 1.97 million likes

    Google results for candy
    The top 10 hottest candy searches on the Google search engine are:

    1. Candy corn

    2. Gummy Bears

    3. Snickers

    4. M&M’S

    5. Reese's

    6. Milky Way

    7. Twix

    8. Lollipop

    9. Twizzler

    10. Peanut M&M'S

    What's your all-time favorite Halloween candy? Tell us in the comments!

    More:

    • Hot new Halloween candy to help you one-up the neighbors
    • Healthier Halloween candy that won't ruin your reputation
    • What's the most hated Halloween candy?
    • Video: Scariest of all: Which viewer's Halloween costume is best?

    TODAY diet and nutrition editor Madelyn Fernstrom gives a lesson on Halloween candy, sharing five fun facts, including the most popular candy and which candy does not cause weight gain.

    14 comments

    Sometimes, the best thing to give out on Halloween isn't candy. My mom started giving out Play-Doh a few years ago and now the whole neighborhood knows her house as "the Play-Doh" house. It's been a huge hit. I plan on giving out Play-Doh myself this Halloween.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: halloween, candy, popular, treats, trick-or-treaters

Browse

  • featured,
  • economy,
  • employment,
  • personal-finance,
  • careers,
  • retail,
  • business,
  • taxes,
  • buzz,
  • cheapism,
  • workplace,
  • consumerman,
  • deals,
  • consumer-news,
  • good-graph-friday,
  • jobs,
  • unemployment,
  • retirement,
  • live-chat,
  • money,
  • career,
  • education,
  • food,
  • real-estate,
  • recession,
  • autos,
  • holiday-retail,
  • women,
  • college,
  • shopping,
  • money-911,
  • facebook,
  • housing,
  • wealth,
  • irs,
  • gas-prices,
  • work,
  • commentid-featured,
  • savings
Also

Top More on TODAY.com headlines

3155,10
Advertise | AdChoices

Archives

  • 2013
    • May (34)
    • April (66)
    • March (75)
    • February (72)
    • January (74)
  • 2012
    • December (57)
    • November (94)
    • October (75)
    • September (69)
    • August (51)
    • July (58)
    • June (76)
    • May (63)
    • April (62)
    • March (77)
    • February (69)
    • January (48)
  • 2011
    • December (62)
    • November (69)
    • October (63)
    • September (62)
    • August (58)
    • July (54)
    • June (42)
    • May (48)
    • April (43)
    • March (47)
    • February (36)
    • January (43)
  • 2010
    • December (65)
    • November (64)
    • October (51)
    • September (43)
    • August (16)

Most Commented

  • Big Brother may not be watching, but your employer probably is (185)
  • Great Recession will haunt millions into their retirement years, study finds (160)
  • Retirement age in US rises to 61 (from 57 in the early 90s) (192)
  • More brands find it's not a stretch to offer plus-size yoga attire (97)
  • Retired couples will need $220,000 for medical expenses (87)
  • So your kid wants a credit card. What do you do now? (43)
  • Bus drivers top obese workers list; doctors tip lighter (47)

Other blogs

  • Hip2Save

More on TODAY.com

3155,8
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • Today.com Money
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise