Sweet! Here’s Maryland’s Favorite Halloween Candy

ANNAPOLIS, MD — With Halloween less than two weeks away, it begs the question: What are Marylanders’ favorite Halloween candies? Is this a state of chocolate lovers — think Hershey bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or Butterfinger — or do you (gasp!) prefer non-chocolate treats like Skittles, Lifesavers or candy corn?

It’s a big deal for candy-makers and businesses leading up to the holiday. On a typical week Americans spend $300 million on candy, but experts say U.S. candy sales should hit $2.5 billion for Halloween 2016.

Two recent surveys of Maryland tastes disagree on what the top candy is in the state. The Influenster website surveyed over 40,000 readers to determine which Halloween candies are favorites and found the candy with the highest total number of votes was Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Along with Kit Kat and Butterfinger, the trio were voted top treats in every state.

According to Influenster’s readers, Maryland’s favorite candy is Almond Joy.

But, CandyStore.com, an online candy wholesaler, tracked eight years of its sales data to determine the best-selling Halloween candy by state, in pounds sold. That list says that Maryland shoppers buy Milky Way bars more than any other candy, followed by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Skittles.

“People in Maryland love Milky Way chocolate bars,” says CandyStore.com. “The good news is that they can enjoy eating them while observing the candy bar’s namesake in Alpha Ridge Park at the HALO observatory” in Columbia.

»What is your favorite candy, Maryland? Tell us in comments.

For some folks, candy corn is the quintessential Halloween treat, while others use it as a decorating prop. Comedian Lewis Black has a whole rant about candy corn, which he describes as “which is neither candy, nor corn," and suggests all candy corn in existence was made in 1914 and recycled annually.

Chocolate is the most popular candy among all age groups, but was most popular among those ages 45 to 60 who preferred it over other candies by 78 percent, according to a 2015 Nielsen survey says the 24/7 Wall Street site. Candy corn was a distant second in preference, receiving about 12 percent of the vote, even though 52 percent of people say they have to have candy corn on Halloween.

The CandyStore website published an interactive map showing the top-selling candy in all 50 states.

»Patch file photo