Why holiday candy triggers nostalgia, fuels scarcity hype, and keeps shoppers reaching for seasonal shapes and flavors, inside the data behind 2025’s sweetest picks.
One of the undeniable joys of the holiday season—at least in our view—is the candy. Holiday treats arrive like tiny, sugar-dusted bursts of joy, wrapped in festive colors, nostalgic flavors and whimsical shapes.
Consumers feel the magic too. When asked what they love most about holiday candy, their answers echoed the same themes: taste, tradition, creativity and the unmistakable spark that marks the season. Holiday candy taps into a childlike excitement that makes this time of year feel special.
To understand what people want, expect and reach for most this winter, we surveyed 450 consumers and analyzed their holiday candy preferences. Here’s what we found.
Key Takeaways
Emotion, Nostalgia and Tradition Drive Holiday Candy
Consumers consistently link holiday candy to childhood memories, family rituals and the cozy feeling of the season. The emotional cues—shapes, colors, flavors—are as important as the candy itself.
Scarcity Fuels Excitement
Limited-time flavors, wrappers and shapes heighten anticipation. Seasonal exclusivity creates urgency, helps justify indulgence and reliably boosts revenue.
Price Sensitivity Is Real
The top complaint this year: rising prices. Seasonal markups frustrate shoppers and dull the joy of otherwise beloved treats.
Taste Wins, Creativity Helps
Classic flavors, such as sugar cookies and hot cocoa, continue to shine, but clever new shapes and seasonal twists also resonate. Consumers reward novelty—just not too much of it.
What Consumers Look For in Holiday Candy
When asked what they love most, consumers consistently cited the same five themes:
1. Seasonal Exclusivity
“Only available once a year” was mentioned hundreds of times. Limited-edition flavors, packaging and shapes make holiday candy feel special and worth seeking out.
2. Festive Spirit
Theme shapes—trees, snowmen, reindeer—festive colors and decorative packaging instantly signal the holidays. For many, the look matters as much as the taste.
3. Nostalgia & Tradition
Holiday candy brings people back to childhood memories, stockings, baking and family gatherings. It’s as much an emotional experience as a culinary one.
4. Festive Flavors & Fun Shapes
Consumers love both the classics—peppermint, gingerbread, eggnog—and seasonal innovations. Shapes boost enjoyment and even serve as décor.
5. Sharing, Gifting & Togetherness
Holiday candy is a social treat. Shoppers love using it for gifting, gatherings and stocking stuffers.
Also Read: How to Win Holiday Sales Without Losing Public Trust
What Consumers Don’t Like
Holiday candy complaints fell into four buckets:
1. Price Increases
The No. 1 frustration: higher prices for the same candy wrapped in seasonal packaging.
2. Too Much Sugar / Health Concerns
Many said holiday candy feels overly sweet or unhealthy—especially when they eat “too much of it.”
3. Polarizing Flavors
Peppermint topped the complaint list. Cinnamon and pumpkin spice also drew criticism.
4. Repetitiveness or Overcrowding
Some feel seasonal offerings are repetitive; others think there are too many variations. Consumers want novelty—but not chaos.
Top Holiday Candy of 2025
We evaluated 15 winter holiday candies, including classics, recent favorites and new launches. Respondents ranked them by likelihood of purchase.
Top picks:
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Reese’s Peanut Butter Trees – 1st place (32%)
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Snickers Christmas Trees – 2nd place (30%)
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Twix Snowmen (new) – 3rd place (29%)
As usual, chocolate-based seasonal shapes dominated. Non-chocolate options—Twizzlers, Sour Patch Kids, Peeps—trailed, reflecting narrower fan bases.
Category Awards
Great Tasting: Twix Snowmen (54%)
Most Festive: M&M’s Milk Chocolate Winter Blend (47%)
Best for Gifting: KitKat Santas (41%)
Most Fun: Sour Patch Kids Coal (44%)
Most Unique: Reese’s Sugar Cookie (35.4%)
Most Playful: Sour Patch Kids Coal (37%)
Top Quality: Reese’s Peanut Butter Trees (34%)
Best with Hot Drinks: Hershey’s Kisses Hot Cocoa (30%)
Twix Snowmen’s win for taste is a notable upset in a category usually dominated by Reese’s.
What Makes a Holiday Candy Succeed?
Consumers also evaluated each candy on the drivers of product success: advantage, distinctiveness, relevance and believability.
Standouts:
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KitKat Santas and Reese’s Sugar Cookie outperformed on three of four metrics.
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Believability was highest for Reese’s, Snickers and KitKat—brands with long seasonal histories.
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Distinctiveness is hard to win; only Reese’s Sugar Cookie, Lindt Lindor Cinnamon Swirl and Sour Patch Kids Coal broke away from the pack.
