The National Confectioners Association estimates that Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States and that 93% of children will go trick-or-treating each year.

Although all candy is free for trick-or-treaters and most kids will take anything with a smile, they tend to consume and categorize candy to what is known as the Halloween Candy Hierarchy, a research that was conducted in 2006 with thorough testing and re-testing…

• TOP TIER – (not suprisingly, exclusively chocolate-based)
  • Milly Way — Snickers — Peanut M&M’s — Regular M&Ms — Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Junior Mints — regular old Hershey Bars* — Twix

• SECOND TIER – (also exclusively chocolate, after fending off a few intruders)
  • Kit-Kat* — Nestle Crunch — Almond Joy — Mounds — Tootsie Rolls* — Dark Chocolate Hershey Bars — Fair Trade Chocolate — Butterfinger

• THIRD TIER – (also referred to as the chewy range or, in some circles, the Upper Chewy or Upper Devonian)
  • Milk Duds — Starburst — Jolly Ranchers (if a good flavor) — 100 Grand Bar

• BOTTOM TIER – (the Lower Chewy and Gummy-Based, also the Middle Crunchy Tart Layer)
  • Dots — Lollipops — Nerds — Whoppers — Swedish Fish — Gummy Bears straight up — Licorice — Anything from Brach’s — Hard Candy — Bubble Gum — LemonHeads — LaffyTaffy — Including the Chiclets (but not the erasers) — Jolly Ranchers (if a bad flavor) — Black Jacks — Bottle Caps — Smarties

• Tier so low it does not register on our equipment
  • Healthy Fruit — Pencils — Lapel Pins — Extra Strength Tylenol

For more ideas on what to pass out for Halloween check out The Etiquette of Handing Out Halloween Candy article on Stuffmagazine.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 3:25 pm and is filed under Halloween, Halloween Candy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.