MCKEESPORT, Pa. — In a block-long warehouse at the McKeesport Candy Co., wooden pallets are piled high with boxes of candy fangs, wax mustaches, peanut-butter-and-chocolate pumpkins, even a bag of “blood” that resembles a hospital IV.
“The grosser the candy, the better it’s going to sell,” says owner Jon H. Prince.
While kids love gore and gimmicks when it comes to Halloween — how can you not love a pair of wax fangs? — experts say children still are drawn to the classics their parents favor when filling the family treat bowl every year.
First on the list? Chocolate.
Sixty-eight percent of kids say they like to get treats made with chocolate, while 9 percent go for lollipops, 7 percent go for gummy candy and 7 percent prefer gum, the association said.
And last year, sales of gummy candies were on the rise. But it’s not just the little colorful bears you might be used to. Think gory gummy — eyeballs, tongues, fingers, brains, even rats are all popular for Halloween.
Halloween candy accounts for about $2.2 billion in sales a year, the biggest holiday for confections after Easter.
