Trends
No tricks, only treats this Halloween
Scary movie
Halloween is synonymous with scary movies, with some of the most successful horror and horror adjacent films released in tandem with the spookiest season.
Food and drink manufacturers looking to boost sales during the Halloween period have often seen success tying their brands to the latest media releases and 2024 is proving to be no exception.
Arguably one of the biggest films of the year is the long-awaited sequel to the Tim Burton classic Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. It was no surprise then that Coca-Cola have partnered with Warner Bros to feature the film’s characters on cans and bottles of Fanta.
Coca-Cola took this one step further by announcing a limited-edition apple flavoured variant of the drink to tie in with the launch of the movie in October. Called Zero Afterlife, the beverage is bright green in colour, further tying it into the Halloween aesthetic.
“This year promises to be our biggest and best Halloween yet, with exclusive limited editions – including a brand-new flavour and collectable packs – under the umbrella of a huge new global partnership,” said Coca-Cola European Partners vice president for commercial development Rob Yeomans.
“Halloween is one of the most important retail events in the calendar, and it’s become synonymous with Fanta in recent years – with the brand accounting for one in every four flavoured carbonates sold in the four weeks to Halloween 2023 [Nielsen data].”
Sweet tooth
Confectionary has long been the king of Halloween, with consumers buying buckets of sweets to hand out to kids dressed as ghosts and ghouls knocking on their doors. It’s become just as much of a tradition for manufacturers to incorporate seasonal colours – orange, green, purple and black – into their products to match the theme.
Mars has gone all in on green coloured products this Halloween, with two of its most popular brands, Twix and Snickers, receiving a ghoulish makeover. Traditional Halloween flavours also come into play, with the confectionery manufacturer launching a Pumpkin Pie M&M variant.
According to its Inaugural ‘Mars Tricks, Treats and Trends’ report, chocolate was the reigning favourite flavour of Halloween, preferred by 88% of confectionery buyers. While it should be noted that the report was based on a survey of US adults, consumer spending on Halloween in the UK was on the rise – up 20% to £1bn in 2023, according to Mintel.
Unsurprisingly, ‘fun size’ sweets are the most popular choice for shoppers during the festive period, since they will primarily be given out to trick or treaters on Halloween night. That being said, Gen Z shopper prefer to purchase full size chocolates and sweets, while millennials are opting for ‘minis’.
Day of the Dead
Halloween is a holiday that has roots in European culture, but it has since spread across the world. The popularity of the holiday across the great melting pot of cultures that is the US has shined a light on similar festivals that celebrate and honour the dead.
Over the past few years, the most prominent has been Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration thanks to its overlap with Halloween – this year sees the holiday fall on 2 November.
Consultancy Egg Soldiers described the Day of the Dead as an opportunity for food businesses to ‘extend’ the Halloween season with festival-inspired offerings, such as pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and traditional Mexican street food tamales.
As for beverages, Atole (a warming corn, cinnamon and vanilla drink) and Horchata (a sweet, rice-based drink) were predicted to be mainstays in bars over the festival period – mixed in with a range of Mexican spirits.
“Day of the Dead will once again be on the agenda for many UK operators this year, with regional pan de muertos (or even filled versions) for bakeries; Mexican hot chocolate or Champurrado (a chocolate version of atole) for coffee operators and cafés; and limited-edition tamales as grab-and-go specials just three potential innovation areas for 2024 product development,” said Egg Soldiers.
Premium treasures
As the nation slowly recovers from the cost-of-living crisis, consumers are becoming more and more receptible to paying a little bit extra for more luxurious goods. While their first thought may be to grab a cheap bag of sweets to hand out to trick or treaters, consumers are becoming more open to spending a little more on premium gifts and centrepieces for parties.
Retailer own-label NPD demonstrated the confidence they have in premium product ranges this Halloween. Marks & Spencer (M&S), for example, has launched a £6.50 ‘Glow in the Dark Ghost Train’ filled with “spooky milk chocolate passengers”.
M&S product development director Kathryn Turner told sister title The Grocer that while shoppers are generally still being fairly cautious, they are expecting people to feel more comfortable spending a little more – particularly for special occasions.
Raise your spirits
The ghouls and ghosts aren’t the only thing that consumers are preparing for this autumn. We’ve already started to see the temperatures drop, so a warming drink is a no brainer as we transition from Halloween into Bonfire Night through to Christmas.
Tropical drinks and frozen cocktails will be out with the summer breeze, with the nation looking for something rich and warming to cosy up with instead.
Lucela’s – producers of the Lucela’s Chocolate and Rum Spirit Drink – is expecting a surge in spiked hot chocolates, coffee-based drinks, and warming fruit cocktails in anticipation for this shift in consumer tastes..
“Customers drink Chocolate Rum all year round but it is brilliantly suited to the cooler months. There is something about pairing chocolate and rum in autumn and winter that is so comforting and cosy,” said co-founder Phil Fairclough. “A glass of rich, smooth, warming Chocolate Rum takes Bonfire Night to another level – whether it’s added to hot chocolate or matched with some other classic cold weather flavours, like coffee, apple or orange.
“It’s becoming increasingly popular at Halloween parties as well. While the children enjoy their Halloween chocolate and sweets, the adults can have their own grown-up version over ice or in a spooky cocktail. The vibrant colour of the rum and its rich, smooth, chocolatey taste means it’s perfect for a themed Halloween night.”
