This Is Consumers' Favorite Candy, According To A New Survey

Imagine being the proverbial kid in the candy store. Your allowance is tucked away in your pocket and you plan to spend the whole thing on your favorite sweets. Life is good. The biggest conundrum you face is deciding exactly what candies you'll buy. And judging from the stack of choices in front of you, you may be there a while.  

Maybe you could take the advice of other candy lovers. The folks north of the 49th parallel have a penchant for Kit Kat and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, with the peanut buttery circles being Canada's top choice in 2021, per Candy Club. The citizens of jolly old England prefer Cadbury Dairy Milk, while Germans enjoy a Milka milk chocolate bar best. If you're considering something in the hard candy category, according to Statista, America's favorite is Jolly Rancher with Werther's Original coming in second. America's top chewy candy (without chocolate) in 2017 was Skittles. 

While this information is interesting, it isn't exactly making your decisions any easier. Perhaps, knowing which candy is America's overall favorite will help narrow down your choice.  

It turns out that a recent survey conducted by Shopkick shows that Americans are enamored with the cocoa bean, selecting Reese's and M&M's as their favorites. Yes, a resounding 90% of the nation's citizens have a fondness for chocolate, and Reese's and M&M's tied for the top spot winning over 57% of chocolate lovers' taste buds. These findings look remarkably familiar as an Instacart survey from 2020 also showed Reese's and M&M's tying for number one as America's top candies, per Candy Club. At Easter, however, the Cadbury Easter Creme Egg reigns supreme, while Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs come in second. 

Clearly, if the palates of the masses are to be trusted, chocolate is your safest bet. After all, CNBC says your fellow Americans gobbled up 18% of the planet's chocolate — spending roughly $18.27 billion in 2015, alone. And the South Florida Reporter claims that, "Every second, Americans collectively eat 100 pounds of chocolate." (Insert sounds of a mind exploding). That's a lot of disappearing chocolate. 

It sounds like the majority of your candy stash should involve the sweet nectar of the cocoa bean. But, hey, a handful of Twizzlers, jelly beans, and gummy worms would hit the spot too.