By Maryclaire Manard
It may come as a surprise to many that trick-or-treating in the U.S. wasn’t a commonplace Halloween activity until the 1940s. It wasn’t until even later that this particular fall festivity became a mega-boom of annual spending for store-bought candy, with over $2.5 billion estimated to have been spent on candy in 2019.
While local and state-wide Covid-19 restrictions may be cutting down on the teeth shattering sweets consumed by trick-or-treaters this year, many families are reimagining ways to celebrate the time-honored tradition. While we’re at it, if we are updating plans for trick-or-treating, have you considered updating your candy haul as well?
Read on to see the political impacts behind some of America’s most-loved candy brands.
Company: Mondelez International
Oreo, Sour Patch Kids, Toblerone, are just a few of the notable brands under the Mondelez snack foods corporate umbrella. In the last three federal election cycles (2016, 2018, and 2020) Mondelez had a combined contribution total of $109,200 between both corporate PAC spending and individual employee contributions over the amount of $1000 (typically donations of this size are only made by senior level executives, like a CEO). See the graph below to see their political contribution breakdown.
Company: MARS, Inc.
Twix, Snickers, Milky Way, M&Ms, Skittles, Starburst, and 3 Musketeers, are just a few of the notable brands under the Mars corporate umbrella. In the last three federal election cycles (2016, 2018, and 2020) Mars had a contribution total of $115,250 but this amount only came from individual employee contributions (over the amount of $1000) and NOT corporate PAC contributions. See the graph below to see their political contribution breakdown.
Company: The Hershey Company
Almond Joy, Jolly Rancher, Reese’s, Twizzler, Payday, and its namesake Hershey are just a few of the notable brands under the Hershey Company’s corporate umbrella. In the last three federal election cycles (2016, 2018, and 2020) The Hershey Company had a combined contribution total of $130,012 between both corporate PAC spending and individual employee contributions over the amount of $1000. See the graph below to see their political contribution breakdown.
Political Contribution Breakdown:
All contribution data comes directly from the Center of Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research nonprofit that studies the effects of money on campaigns and lobbying efforts. Their reported data is from the Federal Election Commission, an independent agency in the U.S. that regulates campaign finance laws. To see these numbers broken down between corporate PAC contributions and individual employee contributions, join the waitlist for Cluey today.
Alternatives: Ferrero, Haribo, Tootsie Roll Industries, and more
For some readers out there, your stance on corporate backed contributions to political candidates may be that you care for none of it, regardless of which party benefits. For those folks, we recommend checking out brands with corporate parents that have given zero in funding in the last three election cycles.
Enjoy the tricks and the treats this year however you choose to celebrate, and to learn more about the political impacts behind everyday consumer brands like these and others, sign up for Cluey today.
Editor’s note: Regardless of our political leanings, there is one thing we can all agree on.. Candy corn is the worst.
Maryclaire is the CEO and Founder of Cluey Consumer. She started Cluey out of her personal frustration with the inconvenience and difficulty of aligning consumer behavior with political, social, and environmental values.
