This year, Consumers Are Ready for a Sweet (and Salty) Easter

March 25, 2024

Spring is upon us, and consumers are hopping with excitement about Easter! Back in February, Hershey’s Consumer Insights team surveyed consumers and found they were already ready to celebrate. More than a month before the holiday, 35% of those polled had already purchased Easter candy. Some of those early birds may be getting a jump start on preparing for the holiday, but we know many consumers look forward to when their favorites like Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs are finally back in stores and are buying them just for themselves!

With three of the top five brands of the season—Reese’s, Cadbury and Hershey’s—Easter is an exciting season for us at Hershey, too, and all year long we're working hard to understand how we can best deliver what consumers are looking for to bring even more fun and excitement to the holiday.

Read on to see what’s on the minds of consumers, and how Hershey is responding with ideas for salty and sweet snacks, and through delightful treats like our new Reese's Peanut Butter Mini Eggs Unwrapped, Cadbury Caramello Miniatures, Kit Kat^® Lemon Crisp Flavored bars and more.  

Consumers are springing into holiday celebrations. Most people surveyed—79%—plan to celebrate Easter. The top activities include buying Easter candy, decorating eggs and making Easter baskets. In addition, consumers are excited to bake and assemble homemade Easter treats this year.

They’re largely visiting stores for Easter shopping. Consumers told us that they’re predominately planning to shop in-store for their Easter-themed items (82%), with just about 20% planning to use in-store pick up or have items shipped to their home. As they shop, consumers are looking for deals. While about one-quarter of those polled say they may cut back on candy purchases, others are searching for ways to stretch their dollars: 

• 22% say they’ll prioritize finding the lowest prices on sale 
• 21% say they’ll look for online deals 
• 21% say they’ll buy lower-cost brands to save money  

They’re looking for salty snacks in addition to sweet snacks and treats. While consumers love their Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bunnies, they also like to mix things up a bit and pair salty with sweet. In response to our survey, 39% of consumers said they are very or extremely interested in buying Easter-themed salty snacks this season, and 14% plan to buy more salty Easter snacks than last year. Top categories include chocolate-covered salty snacks (56%), potato chips (46%) and pretzels (42%).

The savory trend opens up fun opportunities to try salty-sweet Hershey treats, like Hershey’s Dipped Pretzels, as well as some of our popular recipes, such as Easter Time Pretzel Delights using Rolo®  or Cadbury Mini Eggs. Alternatively, people can get creative and melt down Hershey products (like our chocolate bars, Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolates and baking chips) and drizzle on potato chips, pretzels, popcorn or all of the above to create their own one-of-a-kind Easter treats.  

As the leader of the Easter season, Hershey is honored to be a part of consumers’ celebrations and Easter traditions. We love that people associate our brands with this special time of year, and we’re always looking for ways to be a part of more moments of goodness. That’s why our Helping Hands teams have been hard at work building displays and stocking shelves to make sure that retailers everywhere are loaded up with Hershey classics as well as our latest innovations, which include:  

• Reese's Peanut Butter Mini Eggs Unwrapped: These new, mini-sized eggs are unwrapped for easy snacking. 
• Cadbury Caramello Miniatures: Wrapped in seasonal graphics, they’re ideal for Easter candy dishes, sharing with friends or treating yourself.  
• Kit Kat^® Lemon Crisp Flavored bar: A burst of citrusy sunshine, the bold and zesty Kit Kat^® Lemon Crisp Flavored bar is a treat worthy of spring.  
• Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme Polka Dot Bunnies: The white creme exterior is adorned with pastel blue, pink and purple cookie bits on the inside, and can gussy up any Easter basket.  
• Chocolate & Sweets Easter Assortment: Look for Haribo^® Goldbears^® gummies in a variety of Hershey assortment bags, perfect for egg hunts and Easter baskets.  

For generations, Hershey products have been a part of Easter celebrations everywhere. That’s the sweetest of honors, and something that all of us at Hershey cherish. We hope to be a part of your gathering this year. Happy Easter!

Source: February Easter Pulse Survey 2024