Trick or treat: Chocolate always a Halloween hit

MCKEESPORT, Pa. -- In a block-long warehouse at the McKeesport Candy Co., wooden pallets are piled high with boxes of candy fangs, wax mustaches, peanut butter and chocolate pumpkins, even a bag of "blood" that resembles a hospital IV.

"The grosser the candy, the better it's going to sell," said owner Jon H. Prince.

While children love gore and gimmicks when it comes to Halloween -- how can you not love a pair of wax fangs? -- experts say children still are drawn to the classics their parents favor when filling the family treat bowl every year.

First on the list? Chocolate.

"The truth is that there are many tried and true candy favorites, especially at Halloween," said Susan Smith, a spokeswoman for the National Confectioners Association. "Holidays represent tradition and small traditional favorites are the true kid pleasers on Halloween night."

Sixty-eight percent of children say they like to get treats made with chocolate, while 9 percent go for lollipops, 7 percent go for gummy candy and another 7 percent prefer gum, the association said.

And last year sales of gummy candies were on the rise. But it's not just the little colorful bears. Think gory gummy -- eyeballs, tongues, fingers, brains, even rats are all popular for Halloween. In all, Halloween candy accounts for about $2.2 billion in sales a year, the biggest holiday for confections after Easter.

New variations of traditional treats help drive some of those sales, Smith said. Bethlehem-based Just Born Inc., for example, is known primarily for its marshmallow Peeps candies at Easter. This year, the company has added Peeps Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Pumpkins.

Halloween is the biggest and busiest time of year for The Hershey Co., which makes snack-sized Reese's peanut butter cups, the Hershey's chocolate bar, Twizzlers, KitKat bars and other candies. The company said its most popular brand at this time of year is the Reese's cup, as well as its chocolate and peanut butter pumpkins.

The miniature chocolate bars known as "fun size" are a big Halloween seller for candy company Mars, said Debra Sandler, chief consumer officer for Mars Chocolate North America. New Jersey-based Mars makes several special products for the holiday, including M&M's Peanut Harvest Bags, Filled Bar Autumn Miniatures, and Dove Milk, Dark and Peanut Butter Harvest Promises.

"Milky Way sells particularly well during Halloween as it is a traditional family favorite for trick-or-treating that parents remember getting as children," Sandler said.

In Anoka, Minn., which claims to be the Halloween Capital of the World with a holiday parade that started in 1920, Jen Thorkildson generally buys the smaller, snack-sized chocolate bars to hand out every year. And the 35-year-old mom's two children, ages 9 and 7, also head straight for the chocolate once trick-or-treating is done.

"The kids love getting 100 Grand Bars. Also a few people give out full size bars and they think that is really great," Thorkildson said.

Workers at the McKeeport Candy Co. in Pennsylvania will be fielding calls and taking orders right up to the day before Halloween if necessary, said third-generation owner Prince. He tours the warehouse, stopping to show off the big sellers this time of year, which include the "blood" bags and even edible insects.

Prince said it's easy to see why children -- and adults -- get so excited about candy. It's about selling a piece of the past and bridging generations, he said, before pointing out a box of those iconic wax lips.

"These are classic," he said with an excited smile. "The lips have been around since time eternal."