Jelly Beans Dethrone Peeps as Favorite Easter Candy

Jelly Beans See Highest Share of Demand Ahead of Easter

It’s official — jelly beans have dethroned Peeps as the #1 Easter candy for American consumers, according to new findings from our data science team. While the two were neck and neck during last year’s Easter candy analysis, this year illustrates a much larger share of demand for jellybeans during the weeks leading up to Easter 2022.  ‍

Why it matters: With Easter approaching on April 9, consumers are gearing up for another day of candy-infused festivities. We analyzed the most popular candies among Amazon U.S. shoppers and how much they might cost consumers in 2023.  

‍What we’re seeing: These candies saw the biggest share of online demand for Easter sweets during the weeks preceding Easter 2022 — an indicator of what we may see this year:

• Jelly Beans held 23.38% share of demand from March 27 – April 10, 2022
• Peeps 16.20%
• Cadbury Mini Eggs 11.44%
• Sour Patch Kids 8.63%
• Skittles 8.49%
• Cadbury Eggs 8.21%
• Hershey Kisses 5.58%
• Starburst Jellybeans 4.97%
• Swedish Fish 3.95%
• Kit Kat 3.66%
• Reeses Eggs 1.92%
• Chocolate Bunnies 1.74%
• Robin Eggs 0.82%
• M&Ms 0.73%
• Reeses Bunny 0.28%

Yes, but: Filling your Easter baskets with the crowd favorites could cost you more this year, depending on the type of candy you choose. Here are the candies that saw the largest price increases year over year:  

• Reeses Bunny +20.60% year over year
• Robin Eggs +18.43%
• Cadbury Mini Eggs +12.33%
• Hershey Kisses +7.22%
• Sour Patch Kids +6.86%
• Swedish Fish +6.52%

However: Some popular Easter candies were less affected by the impact of inflation, seeing a smaller price increase year over year:

• Reeses Eggs +4.55% year over year
• Skittles +3.21%
• M&Ms +2.16%
• Jelly Beans +1.94%
• Cadbury Eggs +0.29%

Moreover: There were some Easter candies on the list that saw an inflation reversal, which could help consumers save on their celebrations:  

• Kit Kats -0.64% year over year
• Peeps -0.85%
• Chocolate Bunnies -1.06%
• Starburst Jellybeans -1.12%

The takeaway: If last year’s consumer demand patterns are any indication of this year’s shopping behavior, jellybeans are likely to be the fan favorite in 2023 — even more than Peeps. However, jelly beans saw a bigger price increase year over year than Peeps. This could force consumers to choose between satisfying their sweet tooths or their wallets, making it another toss-up between the two reigning candies.

 Pattern’s data science team analyzed consumer demand and pricing data on Amazon during every day of 2022 and 2023 so far to understand how America shops for their Easter sweets. If you’re interested in using insights like these to power your ecommerce strategy, contact our team today.