The Ultimate Ingredient and Nutrition Guide for Halloween Candy
Oct 28, 2025
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Unmask the candy wrapper and transform Halloween indulgences into a celebration of food transparency, powered by WISEcode. Instead of offering a list of the same 5 “healthier alternatives for Halloween” everyone is sharing, we’re using the WISEcode app to give you detailed ingredient and nutrient information on the most popular Halloween candy, so you can make decisions based on you and your family’s goals. This is your ultimate ingredient and nutrition guide to Halloween candy.
We’ll cover:
Halloween candy and their WISEscores
Halloween candy with and without artificial colors
Halloween candy with and without artificial flavors
Halloween candy alternatives (sorry, we also can’t help it sometimes)
And when your family goes trick-or-treating, you can use the free WISEcode app to scan the candies you pick up along the way too!
Uncover Your Candy Truth with WISEscore
Tonight isn’t just about costumes and crushed wrappers. It’s about powerful choices, having fun, and eating with purpose. For too long, food apps shrug, stamping “bad” on every sugary treat, providing alternatives that are great - but unrealistic for a Halloween celebration due to price and availability. But WISEcode is the world’s first platform built for those who demand clarity, science, and real empowerment with every bite.
WISEscore measures what others leave out: not only highlighting ingredients, but nutrition and outcomes as well. Your chocolate bar isn’t just a sugar rush, it can be a source of magnesium, iron, and joy. Your peanut M&Ms can slow the crash, infuse proteins, and bring genuine benefit (but does contain artificial colors) compared to other common Halloween candy - if you scan, compare, and decide with our radically transparent tools.
America’s Top 10 Halloween Candies and Their WISEscores
Rank | Candy Name | WISEscore | Nutrition and Ingredients |
1 | Jolly Rancher Sour Gummies | 47/100 | Moderately processed with Excellent (clean) Ingredient Quality. Poor protein and fiber density and poor fat quality. |
2 | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | 41/100 | Ultra-processed, artificial preservatives, emulsifiers, soy allergen, OK fiber and protein density. |
3 | Kit Kat | 34/100 | Moderately processed, artificial flavors, seed oils, and emulsifiers. OK protein density and fair fiber and sugar density. |
4 | Snickers | 33/100 | Ultra-processed, artificial flavors, seed oils, and emulsifiers. Good fat quality, OK protein density and not great fiber and sugar density. |
5 | Milky Way | 30/100 | Ultra-processed, artificial flavors, seed oils, and emulsifiers. Good fat quality with fair protein and fiber density. |
6 | Twix | 23/100 | Ultra-processed, artificial flavors, seed oils, and emulsifiers. Poor fiber and protein density with OK carb and fat quality. |
7 | Peanut M&Ms | 21/100 | Super ultra-processed, artificial colors, seed oils, and emulsifiers. Good protein density and OK fiber density. |
8 | Sour Patch Kids | 18/100 | Ultra-processed, artificial colors and flavors. Poor protein density and fat quality, OK carb quality. |
9 | M&Ms (regular) | 16/100 | Super ultra-processed, artificial colors, artificial flavors, and emulsifiers. Poor sugar, protein, and fiber density. |
10 | Skittles | 13/100 | Ultra-processed, artificial colors and flavors, and seed oils. Poor protein and fiber density with OK carb and fat quality. |
This ranking honors not just popularity, but the science of joy, the intelligence of empowered choices, and the mission to make your treats fit your life and your values.
Remember, Halloween candy overall has a high amount of added sugar, so experts recommend moderation if you’re trying to balance ingredients, nutrition, and joy this Halloween. Use the free WISEcode app to scan as you trick-or-treat!
From Sugar Rush to Real Rewards: How WISEscore Changes Halloween
Most candies are high in sugar. The difference lives in the details—protein, minerals, real chocolate, fewer dyes, simplicity of label. WISEscore reveals what fuels the fun, what protects the vibe, and what makes candy more than an empty indulgence. It’s the data-powered roadmap for smoother nights and brighter mornings after candy-fueled memories.
Scan. Compare. Celebrate your informed choices.
Halloween Candy With (and Without) Artificial Colors
Some people are OK with the high sugar content for a holiday like Halloween, but they still care about ingredients like artificial colors in their Halloween sweet treats. Here we look at the same popular list of Halloween candy and simply let you know if they have artificial colors or not.
You can use the free WISEcode app to scan your favorite candies (if they’re not listed here) and always uncover ingredients you want to avoid in a snap.
Candy Name | Artificial Colors? | The Details |
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | No | While ultra-processed, the original Reese’s PB Cups do not have artificial colors, but do contain artificial preservatives. |
Peanut M&Ms | Yes | Super ultra-processed and contains Blue 1, Blue 2, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. |
M&Ms (regular) | Yes | Super ultra-processed and contains Blue 1, Blue 2, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. |
Kit Kat | No | Moderately processed with no artificial colors but does contain artificial flavors. |
Snickers | No | Moderately processed with no artificial colors but does contain artificial flavors. |
Sour Patch Kids | Yes | Ultra-processed and contains artificial colors Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. |
Twix | No | Ultra-processed with no artificial colors but does contain artificial flavors. |
Skittles | Yes | Ultra-processed and includes artificial colors Blue 1, Blue 2, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Titanium Dioxide. |
Jolly Rancher Sour Gummies | No | Moderately processed with Excellent (clean) Ingredient Quality. Nothing flagged ingredient-wise. |
Milky Way | No | Ultra-processed with no artificial colors but does contain artificial flavors. |
After scanning these items, there’s a pretty obvious trend - chocolates and nuts may be processed with artificial flavors or preservatives, but they are less likely to have artificial colors like the vibrant candies of Skittles and M&Ms.
Halloween Candy With (and Without) Artificial Flavors
What about Halloween candy that contains artificial flavors? Here’s a list to determine if your favorite candies contain artificial flavors or not. Your candy not on the list? Use WISEcode for free and scan your Halloween sweet treats to unlock truth in every bite.
Candy Name | Artificial Flavors? | The Details |
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | No | While ultra-processed, the original Reese’s PB Cups do not have artificial flavors, but do have artificial preservatives. |
Peanut M&Ms | No | Super ultra-processed and does not contain artificial flavors, but does have artificial colors. |
M&Ms (regular) | Yes | Super ultra-processed and contains artificial flavors as listed in the ingredients. |
Kit Kat | Yes | Moderately processed with no artificial colors or preservatives but does contain artificial flavors. |
Snickers | No | Moderately processed with no artificial colors but does contain artificial flavors. |
Sour Patch Kids | Yes | Ultra-processed and contains artificial flavors and colors Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. |
Twix | Yes | Ultra-processed with no artificial colors but does contain artificial flavors. |
Skittles | Yes | Ultra-processed and includes artificial flavors colors Blue 1, Blue 2, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Titanium Dioxide. |
Jolly Rancher Sour Gummies | No | Moderately processed with Excellent (clean) Ingredient Quality. Nothing flagged ingredient-wise including no artificial flavors. |
Milky Way | No | Ultra-processed with no artificial colors but does contain artificial flavors. |
Healthier Alternatives for Halloween Candy
We used the WISEcode app to curate a realistic list of alternative treats for Halloween candy that are more accessible and budget-friendly. This way, there’s no barrier for people to make informed sweet treat decisions.
Unreal Dark Chocolate Caramel Peanut Nougat Bars
Unreal tops everyone’s alternatives list this year and with good reason. Unlike most Halloween candy, this product has good scores for protein, carb quality, and healthy fats. As far as accessibility goes, you can find these at Target.
Hershey’s Special Dark, Mildly Sweet Chocolate Bar
You probably noticed a trend with dark chocolate and some of the healthier options for candy. Only moderately processed with lecithin and Pgpr. While sugar and protein don’t offer much in this chocolate bar, it does have a good fiber rating.
Smart Sweets Lollipops
With one of the higher WISEscores of the bunch, Smart Sweets boasts a lightly processed ingredient list with less sugar and carbohydrates per calorie. You can find these on Amazon.
Cocomels
For some variety, you can try Cocomels made with coconut milk, dark chocolate and sea salt. They have an OK WISEscore with a high mark for clean ingredients - moderately processed with one emulsifier; organic soy lecithin.
Justin’s Nut Butter Peanut Butter Cups
If you’re looking for a cleaner version of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, then you might want to try these. With a good bill of ingredients save organic palm oil and organic emulsifiers, these are only lightly processed and provide better-than-average fat quality.
Empowered Trick-or-Treating Tips
Grabbing treats with nuts, chocolate, and visible nutrients tend to not need artificial colors.
Choose lower processed sugar if that’s your goal, with clear ingredient lists—scan first, snack second.
If you’re limiting sugar, enjoy sugar icons like Skittles in moderation, or use WISEcode to find an alternative that suits your taste buds.
Every scan is a stand against food opacity - be the hero, make the smart swap.
You deserve clarity, confidence, and passion with every bite. Open the WISEcode app, reveal the truth, and light up Halloween with family, freedom, and fearless food intelligence. This is more than a ranking, it's a revolution.
*WISEcode receives no compensation and holds no financial interest in the products mentioned; information is provided based solely on our app and database.
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