What is the top Halloween candy? DoorDash, Instacart make predictions

Have you bought the candy you’ll be passing out for trick or treat this year?

If not, DoorDash has compiled a list of what it thinks will be the most popular and it is filled with all of the classics.

The delivery company said Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the king of candy based on last year’s trends, and will fill trick-or-treat buckets or the old standby pillowcases.

They’re followed by M&M’s and Hershey bars. The first non-chocolate option hits at number five — Skittles.

The top 10 are:

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
2. M&M’s
3. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar
4. Snickers
5. Skittles
6. Nerds
7. Sour Patch Kids
8. Twix
9. Kit Kat
10. Airheads

There are regional variations with DoorDash’s data, with Georgia opting for Trolli (think gummy worms), Pennsylvania and Ohio looking for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Florida wanting Skittles, Massachusetts wanting Airheads, North Carolina wanting Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars and finally Washington state opting for Twix.

Again, the rankings are all based on delivery data the company compiled from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, 2024.

Instacart has a similar ranking based on last year’s sales.

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
2. Peanut M&M’s
3. M&M’s
4. Kit Kat
5. Snickers
6. Sour Patch Kids
7. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate
8. Milky Way
9. Twix
10. HARIBO Goldbears

As for Instacart’s state rankings: Massachusetts likes Sour Patch Kids, Pennsylvania opted for Hershey’s, Ohio was looking for peanut butter cups, Georgia and North Carolina had Life Savers, Florida wanted 3 Musketeers and Washington again wanted

But there may be a surprise upset for 2025. DoorDash said that orders from Aug. 1 to Sept. 10, Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme bars dominated, so they may be making the list this year.

Other snacks may also make an appearance, from raisins, crackers and pretzels to old-fashioned candies like Bit-O-Honey and Necco Wafers.

More grown-up candies like Lindt, Kinder Bueno, Ghirardelli and Toblerone also hit high points each October, DoorDash said.

According to the National Retail Federation, about 66% of people plan to give candy out for trick or treat this year. About $3.9 billion was expected to be spent on candy this year alone, with a total of $13.1 billion on everything for the spooky holiday, the NRF said.

The average person will spend about $114.45 for Halloween this year.

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