Has your Halloween candy vanished?
asserted
candy → vanish → ?
You may have fallen for the trick of the treat
Candy is showing up on shelves as early as July, which has some snacking before the ghosts and goblins show up
Jessica Ryan needs to buy a lot of candy each year.
uncertain
Ryan → fall → candy
She runs a children's consignment store in Windsor, Ont., and the surrounding neighbourhood hosts a Halloween party, where she sees up to a thousand kids, all looking for sweet, sweet candy.
asserted
she → run → candy
This year, she bought her Halloween candy early.
asserted
she → buy → candy
But before she knew it, a box had already not-so-mysteriously vanished.
asserted
box → know → it
I have four children, so that box was gone in like five minutes."
asserted
box → have → minutes
And she's not the only one seeing her candy disappear earlier.
asserted
candy → see → ?
According to an Ipsos survey commissioned by Hello Products in 2023, the most recent figures available, more than half of the 1,282 Canadian adults surveyed at the time said they had to restock before Oct. 31.
uncertain
they → accord → Oct.
Analysts credit this to clever packaging and marketing, along with the big boxes of candy showing up earlier and earlier each year.
asserted
boxes → credit → candy
Jessica Ryan bought 16 boxes of candy when it went on sale.
asserted
it → buy → sale
But a few of the boxes have already been depleted.
asserted
few → deplete → boxes
In other words, if you buy a box of candy in August, it's going to be tough to resist the temptation until October.
asserted
it → buy → October
“The season has definitely become longer and shopping behaviour has expanded right along with it,” said Sally Lyons Wyatt, who follows food trends for the global research firm Circana and is based in Texas.
asserted
who → become → Texas
Halloween creep
Lyons Wyatt says it used to be that Halloween candy sales primarily took place in September and October.
asserted
sales → say → September
But Halloween candy is now hitting shelves well before the leaves start to fall, with some stores stocking the sweet treats while it's still prime beach weather, a nod to the “Summerween” trend.
asserted
it → hit → trend
While having those sweet treats in stores early doesn't guarantee you will buy candy early, it does give you an opportunity, says Conor Lane.
asserted
Lane → have → opportunity
"What putting it earlier allows [stores] to do is maximize their number of dice rolls," said Lane, a neuroscientist with The Decision Lab, a consumer behaviour research firm in Montreal.
asserted
Lane → put → Montreal
Halloween candy has been showing up on store shelves earlier and earlier, says Sally Lyons Wyatt.
asserted
Wyatt → show → shelves
"They have a much higher chance of getting you on a day where you've had a really tough day and you just want something to make your day a bit better, or you're in an extremely good mood and you think you might just want to treat yourself."
uncertain
you → get → yourself
Lyons Wyatt says the latter is indicative of consumers increasingly looking for experiences and moments of joy.
asserted
latter → say → joy
A 2026 survey, conducted by Ipsos for the Mars company, which produces Mars bars, M&Ms and Skittles, found that nearly half of the 1,000 Canadians surveyed believed Halloween was no longer a single day, but rather a full season.
asserted
Halloween → conduct → Canadians
A similar survey by Mars in the U.S. also found that many Gen Z respondents were baking spooky treats and attending Halloween parties while still in the summer months.
asserted
respondents → find → months
"Summerween checks all those boxes.
asserted
Summerween → check → boxes
It's social, family-friendly, and relatively affordable compared to a lot of other forms of entertainment," said Lyons Wyatt.
asserted
Wyatt → compare → entertainment
Cues and learned associations
But early stocking isn't the only reason why some customers are buying sooner, Lane says.
asserted
Lane → learn → Cues
He says candy sells because of cues and learned associations.
asserted
candy → say → cues
There's the bright-coloured packaging that makes it impossible to miss.
asserted
it → be → ?
The learned association is that when we see candy, we think yummy.
asserted
we → see → candy
“It works so well that we're even willing to eat a lot of Halloween candy, despite the fact that we know it's usually not very good quality," said Lane.
asserted
Lane → work → fact
"Each little piece feels like it barely counts," said Lane.
asserted
Lane → feel → ?
“It allows us to go over our kind of natural point of, 'Oh, I should stop here.
asserted
I → allow → point
I've eaten a whole chocolate bar.'
asserted
I → eat → bar
Some Canadians no longer view Halloween as just a single day for candy, but rather an entire season of its own.
asserted
Canadians → view → own
In need of a restock
So what do you do if you find yourself low on Halloween candy as the children start to arrive in their Elsa and Buzz Lightyear costumes?
asserted
children → do → costumes
Ryan has found herself in that exact pickle, and has had to get creative.
"
asserted
Ryan → find → pickle
The kids go out with their friends or whoever comes home first, I'm like, 'Give me what you guys aren't going to eat and I'll hand them back out to the other kids.'
asserted
I → go → kids
"
Or, you can do what candy-makers are banking on.
asserted
makers → do → what
“I’m probably going to grab more," said Ryan.
asserted
Ryan → go → more
“I'm sure we're going to eat another box or two before Halloween.”
asserted
we → go → Halloween
The Aporia
