The Most Iconic Halloween Candy from Every Decade

Think back to any October 31 during childhood. Regardless of whether you were dressed up like a cat, a clown, or a cheerleader, chances are high there was one candy (or a few) in particular that made you cheer when it landed in your plastic pumpkin. 

Since I was a kid in the ‘90s, it seems like the Halloween candy aisle has multiplied in size. It’s now full of treats that range from lip-puckering sour to swicy to sweet and nostalgic. All of these options got our food team wondering: when did our personal favorites enter the chat? As we look forward to another sweet autumn, we couldn’t resist taking a peek back to create a Halloween candy timeline featuring the most iconic Halloween candy from every decade in the past century.

The Most Iconic Halloween Candy from Every Decade

Candy history goes back much further than this Halloween candy timeline. In fact, Joseph Fry is credited with debuting the first modern candy bar in 1847, after he added cocoa butter to melted chocolate and molded it into a bar. By 1900, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar arrived on the market, where it was sold for 5 cents per bar. The fruit candy market really picked up steam in 1920, when confectioner Hans Riegel founded Haribo.

We’re rewinding the clock back to the 1920s to reveal the most iconic Halloween candy from each decade in the last century.

1920s: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

The roaring ‘20s were a game-changing decade for chocolate. The nutty Baby Ruth, coconut-stuffed Mounds, and malted milk nougat Milky Way bars were all introduced in this decade. But if we were forced to select one star of this decade, it would be Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. In 1928, H.B. Reese, a staff member at The Hershey Company, invented the classic chocolate-peanut butter cups in his basement. Nearly 100 years later, you can now not only get regular, mini, big, and thin cups, but you can also score them in festive holiday shapes and can even stuff your own 1-pound cup in Hershey, Pennsylvania and Times Square in New York City. 

1930s: Snickers Bar

The confectionary moment continues in the ‘30s. This is the decade that brought us Hershey's Miniatures, whipped chocolate nougat-filled 3 Musketeers, crispy rice-speckled Krackel Bar, and Tootsie Roll Pops. (How many licks does it take you to finish one?) Sweets fans really went nuts in 1930, when the Snickers bar—named after a beloved family horse—was first made in Chicago and sold for 5 cents. The original features nougat, caramel, and peanuts enrobed in milk chocolate. These days, you can choose your own adventure by opting for a Snickers made with almonds or pecans instead of peanuts, butterscotch-flavored nougat, dark or white chocolate in place of the milk. Or try it with added protein or ice cream.

1940s: M&M's

Although they didn’t receive their emblematic “M” stamp until 1950, M&M’s candy-coated chocolate pieces were introduced in six colors in 1941. Businessman Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, the son of the Hershey’s Company president at the time, joined forces (hence the M&M name) to try to crack the candy code of slower sales during summer. To this day, we’re grateful that the colorful chocolates “melt in your mouth, not in your hands.” Originally available in “plain” in six colors—red, yellow, violet, green, and brown—sweets lovers can now customize their color and even add photos and personalized messages to your tailor-made M&M’s.

1950s: Pixy Stix

Fashion in the ‘50s was shifting into bolder colors and eye-catching shapes, such as swing dresses and fitted pencil skirts. Simultaneously, the candy aisle started to look more vibrant—especially once Pixy Stix debuted in 1959. A similar recipe was actually originally sold by Sunline, Inc. as a powdered fruit drink, Fruzola. Sunline’s owner J. Fish Smith realized kids were skipping the H2O and downing the sugar straight from the package. Evolving with his target market, Smith tinkered with the formula and eventually released Lik-M-Aid, similar to today’s Fun Dip, and colorful Pixy Sticks. The “drinkable” fruit-flavored sugar powder was sold in 6-inch tubes in grape, orange, cherry, and Maui punch flavors. Today, you can score sticks in strawberry, lime, and blue raspberry and in supersized (15 inches!) for a serious sugar rush.

1960s: Starburst Fruit Chews

The decade that brought us The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, and the first episode of Jeopardy is also the same era when Americans were first treated to Now & Later fruit chews, caramel- and crispy rice-filled 100 Grands, and sweet-tart Lemonheads. But 1967 is particularly notable due to one fruity pick that remains among the 10 most popular Halloween candies to this day: Starburst Fruit Chews. Originally sold in Britain by Mars Inc. under the name “Opal Fruits,” Starburst’s original flavors are all still available today: strawberry, lemon, orange, and lime. Feeling particular? Pick up a pack of “Fave Reds” or “All Pink” Starbursts. Or if you don’t think it’s hip to be square, you can savor the same flavors in other formats like gummies, jelly beans, minis, or sticks.

1970s: Reese's Pieces

Twix and Ring Pops sweetened the deal a year later in 1979, but the gold star of the disco decade goes to Reese’s Pieces. Hershey’s realized they had a smash hit in their cups, and by the 1950s, they had the equipment and technique down to “pan” candy by coating it in sugar. Two decades later, the Hershey Company created a sweet peanut meal with a texture similar to chocolate. (Watch out, M&Ms!) The pieces were sold as “PBs,” then swiftly renamed to Reese’s Pieces. Three years later, the orange, yellow, and brown orbs became forever linked with a lovable alien, E.T.

1980s: Sour Patch Kids

Our neighbors to the north up in Canada were treated to “Mars Men,” tangy, colorful, and cute martian-shaped chews in the late 1970s. By 1985, Sour Patch Kids made their way to America. Not too long after, they shape-shifted to mimic the look of children since Cabbage Patch Kids were so popular in the ‘80s. First sour (thanks to citric acid, tartaric acid, and sugar in the coating), then sweet, the original kids tasted like lemon, lime, orange, and raspberry. The fruit basket is now overflowing with options, as the kids come in blue raspberry, watermelon, cherry, and tropical flavors.

1990s: Caramel Apple Pops

My fellow ‘90s kids will never forget Nickelodeon’s slime. In 1995, a similarly-hued snack quickly climbed to the top of the most-desired Halloween candies line-up: Caramel Apple Pops. Admittedly not ideal for anyone with sensitive teeth or braces, these chewy, caramel-coated apple candy lollipops make it possible to enjoy the flavors of fall caramel apples year-round, with no messy melting or dunking required.

2000s: Take5

True, it didn’t really take off until summer 2019, when The Hershey Company rebranded this chocolate bar as “Reese's Take 5.” But we would never have Take5 if it wasn’t launched in 2004, when the Hershey's team whipped it up with five crowd-pleasing, sweet-and-salty ingredients: chocolate, caramel, peanuts, peanut butter, and pretzels. At the time, it was marketed in a brown wrapper. Since the PB included was Reese’s nut butter all along, Hershey’s decided to celebrate that fact; adding “Reese’s” to the name and changing Take5’s packaging to the Reese’s-trademarked orange.

2010s: Pretzel M&M’s

The 2010s ushered in a season with a flurry of Oreo flavors, a trend that continues to this day. Not to be outdone, M&M’s started dropping a bounty of new flavors, including the popular blue-bagged crunchy Pretzel M&Ms. Think of them like regular milk chocolate M&M’s stuffed with a small salty pretzel nugget. The poor yellow M&M wasn’t invited to this party, but unlike with classic and peanut M&Ms, the red, orange, green, and brown bites are joined by blue, too. 

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2020s: Nerds Gummy Clusters

Neon-colored, pebble-shaped Nerds have been popular since their inception in 1982. The candy didn’t form a cult following, though, until Nerds Gummy Clusters rolled into the candy aisle in 2020. TikTok creators helped stoke the flames that made Clusters such a craze, but they certainly wouldn’t be popular without checking several cravings boxes at once. The bite-sized pieces of sweet chewy candy are coated in tangy, crunchy Nerds (in berry or rainbow varieties). Due to their ample carb count and pleasant flavor, Nerds Gummy Clusters have become a MVP among marathoners and other endurance athletes, who sometimes use Clusters instead of energy gels to help them hustle to the finish line.