Halloween is a wonderful example of some of what is discussed in Eat Drink Vote: it combines marketing to children with support for a product (i.e., candy) that depends heavily on government subsidy for its ingredients. And - the marketing works!
Here are a few pieces of information picked up in a quick perusal of the web:
- 10% (or nearly $2 billion )of the annual $24 billion candy sales occur in the few days before Halloween. (Source: Dailyinfographic.com)
- This includes approximately 90 million pounds of chocolate candy - which is nearly twice the 48 million pounds of chocolate sold at Valentine's Day. (Source: Nielsen Wire)
- Total money spent for Halloween-related candy and merchandise is growing - quickly. Sales are projected to total $13 billion in 2013, up from $3.29 billion in 2005 - a whooping increase of nearly 300% in just a few years. (Source: National Retail Federation)
So, if you want to be part of the change in the food movement, you might want to keep this in mind, if not for this year than for future years. There is a really good chance that the candy in your grocery store got there this year - and probably next year as well - due to marketing targeted to consumers and retailers as well as ongoing lobbying support for ingredients in candy. A question to ask yourself might be: Is the Halloween candy a treat for me or for the manufacturers of the candy?
