Halloween Candy Favorites: Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bars is Youth EquiTrend Sweet Treat Brand of the Year

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Which candies were the Halloween favorites this year?  According to the 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend® study of eight to 24 year olds, the first goodies to disappear out of the candy bowl should have been Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bars, the highest ranked Sweet Treat Brand of the Year. Other Youth EquiTrend sweet treat brands that would have been gobbled up quickly include Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey's Kisses. America's youth have a taste for chocolate!

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But after the kids devour all the candy, what else will they eat? Food trends impact more than Halloween candy sales, and cereal, cookie, and beverage industries are all impacted by strong youth preference and influence. Within its 13 youth interest categories, 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend® Brand of the Year honors were awarded to five of the highest ranked food and beverage brands.

"For many of us the foods we enjoyed as children stay with us for the rest of our lives," said Regina A. Corso, Senior Vice President for Youth and Education Research at Harris Interactive. "For example, the top three sweet treat brands among youths are among the top five sweet treats in the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend® study of adults as well. By making a connection with the youngest of consumers, brands can have lifelong brand users."

Cookies:
Regardless of whether you dunk them, twist them apart, or just eat them as they come, Oreo Cookies are the 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend® Cookie Brand of the Year. A trio of Chip Ahoy cookies takes the next three spots – Chips Ahoy Cookies, Chewy Chips Ahoy Cookies and Chunky Chips Ahoy Cookies.

Cereal:
Usually, Cheerios are some of the first snacks children are allowed to feed themselves. Could that relationship play into why Cheerios is the 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend® Breakfast Cereal Brand of the Year? Cheerios is followed by Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and then Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Fruit Flavored Drink (among 8-18 year olds):
Fruit flavored drinks are a staple of America's youth.  These drinks are found in lunchboxes and passed out at team sports and kid's parties everywhere.  As a result, Capri Sun is the 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend® Fruit Flavored Drink Brand of the Year, followed by Kool-Aid and Hawaiian Punch.

Juice:
For some, juice is part of a well-balanced breakfast. For others, it's a wholesome thirst quencher. Minute Maid Juice is the 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend® Fruit Juice Brand of the Year. Tropicana and Florida's Natural Refrigerated Orange Juice follow.

Soda (among 13-24 year olds):
Fizzy, sweet, and sparkling, Sprite is the 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend® Soda Brand of the Year.  Other youth favorite soda brands are Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.

Methodology
The Youth EquiTrend® study evaluates measures including: Equity, Emotional Connection, and Brand Advocacy. The keystone to the program is Equity, which provides an understanding of a brand's overall strength and is determined by a calculation of Familiarity, Quality, and Purchase Consideration.

This year's Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend® study was conducted online among 5,077 U.S. consumers ages 8-24 in August, 2011. A total of 121 brands were rated among 8-12 year olds and 167 brands among 13-24 year olds.  Each 8-12 year old respondent was asked to rate a total of 15 randomly selected brands and each 13-24 year old respondent was asked to rate a total of 22 randomly selected brands. Each brand received at least 130 ratings. Data were weighted to be representative of the entire U.S. population of consumers ages 8-24 on the basis of age, sex, education, urbanicity (8-17 year olds) race/ethnicity, region, parental education (8-17 year olds) and income (18-24 year olds), and data from respondents ages 18 and over were also weighted for their propensity to be online.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The EquiTrend® study results disclosed in this release may not be used for advertising, marketing or promotional purposes without the prior written consent of Harris Interactive.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

For a complete listing of all the brands covered in the study, contact Dagney Cassella at 212-539-9600 or [email protected].

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Harris Interactive