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It’s less than three months to the celebration of Halloween festivities and we’re all wondering how it will turn out amid the world’s biggest fear, COVID-19. Some of us have already started planning how to spend the night collecting candies to get our sugar rush. This year’s holiday is even in favor of the little fairies and princes as they will spend Saturday night out without worrying about school.
For the candy making companies, however, they are suffering from the impact the virus has had on the economy. Sales have gone so far down that CEO Hershey, Michele Buck, now wants to reduce the production of Halloween themed candy to avoid the extra stock. She is however optimistic that the sales won’t be too bad since Hershey’s earnings this quarter were above expectations.
For Hershey’s rival, Mars Wrigely, things are not going to be smooth on their side either. The company has been planning for Halloween since 2019. The pandemic has also hit them as consumers are now focused on online grocery shopping while trying to reduce store trips. This year, the company is planning to bring back Skittles Zombies, introduced last year, and Halloween packaging for products such as M&Ms.
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For both companies, it’s now a matter of pivoting as they take note of the Easter sales. According to the National Confectioners Association, candy sales dropped by 4% during Easter season due to the pandemic. For Mars, they had plenty retail stocks, but ran out of stocks online.
Mars is now planning to create a digital Halloween hub with games and candy purchase options. With the current pandemic situation, companies now have to adapt by finding creative ways to stay in business.
What are your plans for Halloween 2020? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
