Jelly Beans See Second Year as America’s #1 Easter Candy

For the second year running, jelly beans have topped the charts as America’s favorite Easter candy, according to new data from e-commerce accelerator Pattern. In fact, the week before Easter is the number-one week of the year for jelly bean demand period.  ‍

Why it matters: Prior to 2022, Peeps held the top spot as America’s favorite Easter sweet before being taken over by jelly beans. Despite the release of increasingly innovative Peeps flavors (such as Dr. Pepper Peeps), the marshmallow-based candy has yet to resume its place at the top for Easter celebrants.  

‍What we’re seeing: Our team evaluated consumer demand on Amazon during every day of 2023 and 2024 so far to understand trends in popularity for the most commonly searched-for Easter candy. Among the 15 most popular Easter treats, the following saw the largest share of online demand during the week leading up to Easter 2023 — a strong indication of what we’re likely to see this year:

• Jelly Beans held 25% of the share of consumer demand during the week leading up to Easter 2023
• Peeps 14%
• Cadbury Mini Eggs 13%
• Cadbury Eggs 8%
• Chocolate Bunny 8%
• Starburst Jelly Beans 6%
• Sour Patch Kids 6%
• Skittles 6%
• M&Ms 4%
• Starburst 4%
• Swedish Fish 3%
• Kit Kats 3%
• Robin Eggs 1%
• Tootsie Roll 1%
• Reese’s Bunny 0%

Penny pinching: In addition to demand data, we also took a look at pricing changes from Q1 2023 – Q1 2024 to get a sense of what consumers can expect at checkout when shopping for their favorite Easter sweets. According to our findings, the top chocolate treats will cost consumers a little extra this year. Here’s how much more shoppers can expect to pay for the most popular chocolate candies this year:

• M&Ms saw a 10% increase in price from Q1 2023 – Q1 2024
• Kit Kats +8%
• Reese’s Bunny +6%
• Tootsie Roll +4%

Yes, but: Despite rising inflation for many chocolate treats, other popular Easter candy choices have experienced inflation reversal. Here are some of the Easter treats that may end up costing consumers less this year:

• Starburst decreased in price by -7% from Q1 2023 – Q1 2024
• Swedish Fish -5%
• Cadbury Mini Eggs -5%
• Cadbury Eggs -4%
• Robin Eggs -3%
• Jelly Beans -3%
• Starburst Jelly Beans -1%
• Skittles -1%

The takeaway: Jelly beans continue to be the most popular choice among American shoppers for Easter candy and are among the treats that have experienced inflation reversal. That means consumers can satisfy their sweet cravings without worrying about breaking the bank for their Easter celebrations. However, those who prefer chocolate may suffer sticker shock at checkout as many popular chocolate treats have seen a sharp increase in price year over year.

• Pattern’s data science team analyzed consumer demand (or the number of people shopping for a given item during a given period) and pricing data on Amazon during every day of 2023 and 2024 so far to understand how America shops for Easter sweets. If you’d like to use insights like these to strengthen your e-commerce strategy, don’t hesitate to contact our team for more information.