Indulging a sweet tooth can be a good thing. The human body needs sources of carbohydrates, like sugar, to turn into energy, and catering to signals like sugar cravings can help to stave off overindulgence, potentially promoting healthy eating habits.

The difficulty, of course, is that people don’t necessarily need added or processed sugars. On top of that, consuming sugar releases feel-good hormones like dopamine, which can increase cravings and make it difficult to control portion sizes.

Unfortunately, excessive sugar intake has been linked to a range of health concerns like weight gain, tooth decay, diabetes, and heart disease. As a result, many consumers are seeking healthier ways to fulfill cravings for sweets, especially around Halloween, and several brands are rising to the challenge. 

SmartSweets

Boasting 92% less sugar than traditional candy, SmartSweets offers candies that contain no added sugar, sugar alcohols, or artificial sweeteners and use fruit and vegetable juices for natural coloring. The female-owned brand launched in 2016 with a goal to “kick sugar, keep candy” and started by innovating a range of gummy candies.

Today, their product line includes low-sugar takes on faves like gummy fish, worms, peach rings, colas, sours, and more, along with hard candy like lollipops and chewy options like caramels. Several products are entirely plant-based and suitable for vegan diets as well.

YumEarth

Some parents are naturally worried about allergies when finding candy for their own kids or handing it out to others on Halloween. YumEarth caters to an allergy-free crowd with products that are free of the big eight allergens, including:

• Peanuts

• Tree nuts

• Soy

• Dairy

• Eggs

• Gluten

• Shellfish (and other fish)

• Sesame

The brand offers a range of organic goodies that are free of GMOs and artificial colors and flavors, with options like jelly beans, gummies, fruit chews, licorice, hard candies, lollipops, and chocolates. Even better, some of their products are available in minis to facilitate Halloween handouts or add small portions to kids’ lunches.

Related: Seasonal Flavors: What's Capturing Consumer Palates

Unreal

Although Unreal products are not free of allergens, with many containing nuts or nut butters, they are organic, fair trade, and free of artificial ingredients and GMOs. Many products are also certified vegan and gluten-free, and they feature fewer sugars and no sugar alcohols.

The variety of chocolate snacks made with “100% real ingredients” is impressive, including peanut butter cups, candy-coated chocolate peanuts, chocolate-covered almonds, chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate coconut bars, and more. This brand also offers Halloween variety bags.

Cocomels

Caramels can be tricky to make in a dairy-free format, but Cocomels has cracked the code with a coconut milk version that’s entirely plant-based. 

Products are marketed as free of dairy, gluten, peanuts, and tree nuts (although the FDA includes coconuts in the tree nut category), and they’re sweetened with organic cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

Unfortunately, the products are not manufactured in an allergen-free facility, so they are not guaranteed to be allergen-free, but the company performs an allergen cleanse protocol and testing between production cycles to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. 

Cocomels’ product line includes several appealing flavors, like sea salt, vanilla, and pumpkin spice for fall. There’s also a line featuring oat milk chocolate, and the brand offers some flavors in individually wrapped squares that could serve as Halloween-sized treats.

Entering the Healthy Sweets Market

Catering to consumers seeking healthier options for Halloween, and the rest of the year, means finding innovative ways to create the sweet sensations they love with less sugar. 

Companies doing it right are also cutting out allergens and opting for organic ingredients to sweeten the pot, so to speak, and attract niche demographics that don’t have a lot of options, especially at Halloween.

Want to learn more about Symrise and other food trend insights? Contact the team today!