Candy isn’t selling so well lately. It’s not because of some cultural epiphany, perhaps based on the efforts of First Lady Michelle Obama, that America has a bit of an obesity problem and needs to reach for a celery stalk once in a while. No, it’s because it’s just not candy weather. Because of global warming.
That’s seriously the line that the candy industry is taking to explain why sales have been so flat over the past few years. In an email to NPR, a spokesperson for the National Confectioners Association hum-drummed many reasons for the candy industry’s weak sales, but mostly blamed the weather and coincidental misfortune.
“The past two years have been plagued with major weather disruptions in key celebration regions,” spokesman Jenn Ellek said.
There’s actually something to that. In 2011, there was a lot of unexpected snow in the Northwest which kept candy sales from growing over the Halloween season. Candy sales were also flat in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy swept through on the holiday, Ellek said.
This year, the industry is predicting 1 percent growth because Halloween falls on a Thursday. Due to middle-week awkwardness, they say, fewer people throw parties and have less time for last-minute holiday prep.
But, if this line of reasoning is sound, then the candy industry will have a good next couple of years when Halloween falls on the weekend through 2016.
So all they have to avoid is spontaneous bad weather and all the anti-obesity crusades going on, right?
Actually, they’re not too worried about anti-obesity campaigning. The candy industry has actually joined in, championing moderation with a “Treat Right” messaging campaign and published materials including a “Guide to Moderate Candy Consumption” in which they recommend consuming no more than 50 to 1000 candy calories a day (that’s like a handful of jellybeans or a small, fun-sized candy bar).
So really, they just have to avoid the “act of God” stuff.
Did you buy candy for Halloween this year?
Candy Sales Are Dropping Because Global Warming Makes It ‘Not Candy Weather’ is an article from: The Inquisitr News