• by Sarah Mahoney , October 27, 2025

For Mars Wrigley, Halloween doesn’t end on Oct. 31 — it just restocks. “It’s our Super Bowl of seasons,” says Tim LeBel, the company’s president of sales and self-proclaimed Chief Halloween Officer. With 95% of holiday shoppers buying candy, “it’s the biggest part of the consumer behavior process,” LeBel tells Marketing Daily. And this year’s Halloween — the first Friday edition in 11 years — is expected to boost sales even further.

Mars works with retailers up to two years in advance, reviewing performance right after each Halloween. “The Monday after the holiday, we sit down with our retail partners and review the category,” LeBel says. “We look at what sold really well, what we heard from consumers, and what small adjustments we need to make for next year — whether that’s flavor profiles or pack counts.” The company now produces roughly 90 Halloween products, with sizes ranging from 15 to 350 pieces.

To extend the season, Mars has turned its Topeka, Kansas, facility into “Halloween Headquarters,” staging "Halfway to Halloween" events in May and launching "Summerween" celebrations that start shipping candy in June. “Some people chuckle, some celebrate, and some say, ‘I haven’t even had the Fourth of July yet,’” LeBel says. “But it’s a fun way to signal the start of the season.”

That long runway gives Mars room for smaller “micro-occasions,” from family road trips to “Adult-a-ween” parties. The company’s second year of “molded shapes,” including Twix Ghosts and Snickers Pumpkins, helps build early excitement.

Chocolate still rules Halloween — about 80% of sales — but LeBel says fruity and sour candies are catching up fast, especially with Gen Z and millennials. “Gen Z and millennials are absolutely loving fruity and sour,” he says. “So now you’ll see our top chocolate items like Twix, M&M’s and Snickers combined with Skittles and Life Savers in the same bags.” The company is also building on the success of Skittles Fuego and Skittles Shriekers, which add a spicy or sour twist to the mix, appealing to younger consumers chasing flavor experimentation.

This year’s Halloween push also syncs up with a broader effort by Mars to step out of the shadows. The privately held giant, long known for its secrecy, recently launched its first-ever corporate campaign, “Mars Is Closer Than You Think,” highlighting its American roots and $2 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing. For a company that rarely courts public attention, the move suggests a new openness about how its beloved brands — from M&M’s to Pedigree — anchor communities nationwide.

LeBel says Mars tries to balance the rigidity of the two-year planning cycle to adjust for short-term changes. A special in-house team called the Garage lets the company capitalize on social-media trends fast, looking to turn viral moments into new products within six months. “We’re a huge fan of TikTok,” he says. “We launched Skittles POP’d after seeing freeze-dried candy trending, then followed with Skittles Fuego. Next up is M&M’s Caramel POP’d, coming in November.”

Even as consumer budgets tighten, LeBel insists candy remains an “affordable treat.” Mars, he says, uses “price-pack architecture” to reach every shopper. “Whether it’s an individual piece or a 350-count bag, we want to meet consumers where their budget is.”

And once the costumes are packed away, the focus shifts to another key holiday: football season. Snickers is the official chocolate sponsor of the NFL, and Mars leverages that platform to keep candy top of mind. “As soon as Halloween ends, we transition to Super Bowl displays,” LeBel says. “We’re very involved through social media and retail activations — the NFL is an incredible platform to bring our brands to life.”