America's favorite Easter candy: Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs
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Easter candy cravings differ by city, according to 2024 data from Instacart. Image: Courtesy of Instacart
Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs are once again the top Easter sweet, according to data from Instacart.
Why it matters: Easter is the second most popular holiday for candy purchases after Halloween, a Numerator survey of more than 5,000 people found.
The big picture: Consumers are expected to spend $3.3 billion on candy this year, up from $3.1 billion for the holiday in 2024, according to the National Retail Federation's annual holiday survey.
What we're hearing: Kids aren't the only ones wanting Easter baskets.
- 62% of adults surveyed by Ferrero North America said they would love to get an adult Easter basket.
- 69% said chocolate must be included.
- Fun fact: Most said you should start by eating the ears, not the feet, of a chocolate bunny first.
Top Easter candy nationwide
Zoom in: Instacart says these were the top 10 Easter candies based on Easter weekend 2024 purchases:
- Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs
- Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
- Cadbury Chocolate Mini Eggs
- Hershey's Milk Chocolate
- Cadbury Creme Egg
- Sour Patch Kids
- Lindt Milk Chocolate Bunny
- Starburst Jelly Beans
- Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Eggs
- Kinder Chocolate Candy Egg with toy inside
Where Peeps are a local favorite
The intrigue: Peeps marshmallow chicks didn't make the most popular candy list but they are a local favorite in Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., Instacart data shows.
- Boston Peeps purchases spiked 150%, Philly's 97% and D.C.'s 111%, during Easter weekend 2024 compared to the national average, per Instacart.
Easter candy cravings
Zoom out: Candy preferences vary across regions, Instacart said, noting a few regional standouts — measured by comparing orders placed on the platform versus the national average:
- Cadbury Creme Eggs were supreme in Houston and Portland, Oregon. Houston purchased 71% more than the national share and Portland 112% more.
- Charlotte picked Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, the No. 2 Easter candy nationally, with 34% more than the national average.
Some regional favorites didn't wind up on the national candy list:
- Phoenix opted for Whoppers Malted Milk Balls, with a 227% increase, Instacart said.
- Chicago opted for Peanut M&Ms and purchased 52% more than the national share.
- San Francisco has big fans of Justin's Peanut Butter Cups, with 274% more purchased than the national average.
- San Diego bought 91% more Reese's Pieces than the national share.
- Minneapolis chose Choceur Milk Chocolate, purchasing 499% more than national average.
What we're watching: The price of cocoa.
Top searched Easter candy, by state
The other side: Google on Thursday released the most searched Easter candy by state, which had different results from Instacart's 2024 sales data.
- Peeps were the top Easter candy for 35 states over the past month based on Google searches.
- Gummies were the most searched for in five states: Minnesota, Utah, Colorado, Rhode Island and Hawaii.
- Peanut butter eggs were the favorite in Kansas and North Dakota and M&Ms were the top-searched in Montana and Wyoming.
