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America has a sweet tooth.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the nation’s favorite Halloween candy, followed by Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars and M&M’s, according to DoorDash.
But the nation’s candy cravings get a whole lot weirder once you cross state lines, with everything from Laffy Taffy and Red Vines licorice to Circus Peanuts and even Sour Patch Kids topping the list in some states.
DoorDash crunched its delivery data to determine the most-ordered sweet treat in each state — and found Reese’s reigning supreme in 17 states, from Washington and Oregon to Indiana, Pennsylvania, Maine and the Virginias.
Laffy Taffy has a five-state stronghold, winning over candy lovers in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin, while Californians have a hankering for Red Vines.
Down South, meanwhile, seven states are goblin up Dollar General’s Sweet Smiles, an affordable candy assortment, as their favorite Halloween treat.
The old school treats still have plenty of fans, with Circus Peanuts leading the nostalgic pack, followed by Bit-O-Honey, Lemonhead and Dum Dums.
And then there’s candy corn.
The Halloween staple may be the treat everyone loves to hate, but orders are actually up 30% year-over-year, according to DoorDash.
“Little treat culture has made snacking indulgent every day of the week, whether that’s a random Swedish candy haul on a Tuesday or ice cream delivered on a whim. So when a holiday built entirely around candy comes around, it has to bring something bigger,” said Cristen Milliner, consumer brands expert at DoorDash.
Although they weren’t included in the candy-state survey, raisins are also on the rise, with orders up 60% year over year, DoorDash said.
“Raisins have been the most maligned Halloween treat for decades, the one everyone claims to hate, and yet they keep climbing every year without fail,” Milliner said. “At this point, I don’t think it’s a fluke. There’s a real shift toward parents wanting to offer something that feels like a treat without going all in on sugar, and raisins check that box.”
While trick-or-treaters chase candy, pizza orders jump 20% on Halloween night, even as orders in most other dinner categories decline, according to DoorDash.
“Halloween is one of the only nights all year when dinner takes a back seat to everything else going on, and the data backs that up, most dinner categories actually decline on Halloween night,” Milliner explained.
“Pizza is the exception. It’s fast, it feeds everyone, and it doesn’t get in the way of trick-or-treating.”
