The rise of 'Summerween' expects to boost confectionery sales
"Summerween," which is a summer-inspired Halloween, has garnered steady interest over the years on social media. According to TikTok insights, posts containing #Summerween rose consistently in July over the last three years. As of this article, Instagram has more than 118,000 Summerween posts, where users share Halloween-inspired snacks, cocktails and apparel ideas that also align with summer aesthetics.
The early mass appeal of Halloween began in the pandemic where “people looked for little sparks of joy in challenging times [and] they found seasons to be more important than ever before” coupled with the rise of nostalgic snacks and candies that led brands to reinterpret or revive popular products for a “new-stalgic” twist, Carly Schildhaus, director of public affairs and communications, National Confectioners Association (NCA), told FoodNavigator-USA.
Halloween is “so much more than just Oct. 31,” where Halloween chocolate and candy sales reached $6.4 billion in 2023 with an expected 3-5% increase in sales this year, Schildhaus said. NCA predicts the confectionery category to grow from its 2023 total sales of $48 billion to $61 billion by 2028, she added.
Hershey: Combining value assortments with creative merchandising to drive sales
For Hershey, Halloween is a multi-tiered strategy that combines product variety, value-focused offerings and strategic retail placement that begins before October 31.
Given that consumers’ purchasing patterns for Halloween products shift throughout the season, Hershey works with its retail partners to create “eye-catching in-store displays … to ensure our Halloween offerings are well-positioned to meet consumer needs,” Heather Seamans, senior manager of fall marketing at The Hershey Company, told FoodNavigator-USA.
According to Hershey’s data, 87% of consumers say that creative seasonal displays remind them to buy candy, while 88% agree that seasonal displays make shopping more enjoyable and influence unplanned purchases.
Hershey’s Helping Hands program also plays a key role in maintaining strong retail operations during the Halloween season, Seamans said. The volunteer program, which has more than 2,000 volunteers, pairs corporate employees with retail teams instore to assist with merchandising displays and fill store shelves. The program begins to match volunteers with retail teams towards the end of summer, according to Hershey.
“Providing additional support during peak shopping periods helps ensure that our products are well-stocked and readily available to consumers,” Seamans added.
In anticipation for Halloween, Hershey launched a variety of products across different price points and sizes, including Kit Kat Ghost Toast, Reese’s Werewolf Tracks, a new shape for Twizzlers Ghosts and snack size bars of its Harry Potter line. The company continues to update its Trick or Treat assortment bags that offer a variety of classic favorites and new products, Seamans added.
