Kent State students voted in a survey earlier this month to decide what the best and the worst Halloween candy is, as well as share some of their favorite things about the holiday as it draws closer.
The city of Kent hosted its annual trick-or-treat Oct. 27, and an estimated $3.5 billion will be spent just on Halloween candy this season, according to a National Retail Federation consumer survey.
With such a big consumer platform, a lot of brands sell a wide variety of candy. The amount of choices can be overwhelming.
To see if there were any candy brands that stood out from the rest, an open survey allowed students to pick their candy preferences, which amounted in more than 30 responses.
The Hershey Company’s peanut butter and chocolate candy, Reese’s, won the vote by a landslide. Many of its variations were mentioned as well, with Reese’s peanut butter cups and Reese’s Pieces being referred to the most.
“You can’t go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter. The ratio of chocolate to peanut butter is perfect in the holiday shapes,” Avery Place, an integrated health studies sophomore, explained in the survey.
M&Ms were voted second place, and Twix placed in third. Some runner-ups included Snickers and KitKats.
Tootsie Roll Industries’ gumdrop brand, Dots, was dubbed the worst candy. The most common criticisms were its hard gummy texture and lack of flavor.
“It’s more of a task to swallow them without spitting it into the trash,” Courtney Smith, an exploratory freshman, said in the survey.
The vote put Candy Corn in second place, and Tootsie Rolls in third. Whoppers and Almond Joy were close runner ups.
Josie Jones, whose favorite candy is Reese’s, a sophomore in early childhood education, and said her favorite activity around Halloween is making her costume.
“I’m gonna be Elizabeth from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’” she said. “I’m doing a matching costume with my boyfriend. I’ve never done a group costume before.”
Joseph Petruna, a freshman business major, said his favorite candy is Reese’s because he loves peanut butter, and the atmosphere and community are what makes the holiday so special.
“It’s my favorite holiday … the weather’s super nice, the spookiness of it, all that stuff,” Petruna said. “Costumes are fun, carving pumpkins, all the activities, there’s a lot. As a kid I always did a bunch of Halloween stuff so I think it’s, like, nostalgic.”
Jones said she thinks Halloween is a fun holiday.
“It’s a fun excuse to dress up,” Jones said, “see friends and family and just have a little bit of fun.”
Aryn Kauble is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected]
