NEW YORK -- Chocolate-craving children, rejoice: Hershey’s is the most loved snack and candy brand among parents, according to a new study from market research firm Smarty Pants LLC.
The company’s annual Brand Love study explores parents’ top 25 favorite labels and why these brands are favored compared to others. This year, parents rated 379 brands based on specific “Parentfinity” scores, which measure brand awareness, popularity and love, as well as current and future potential use of the brand. Each brand received a score of zero to 1,000. Twelve of the top 25 brands on the list are snack and candy companies.
- Click here to see Smarty Pants’ Brand Love study on which snack and candy labels are most popular among kids.
The Hershey, Pa.-based chocolate giant garnered a Parentfinity score of 897, good for fifth place overall and first among snack and candy brands. One of Hershey’s subsidiaries, Reese’s, finished eighth overall and third among snack and candy brands with a score of 875. M&M’s finished right behind Hershey’s, placing sixth overall and second among snack and candy brands with a score of 888. Other chocolate brands that made the list included Kit Kat, Twix and Snickers, which finished at No. 10, No. 17 and No. 21 with scores of 868, 857 and 851, respectively.
Chip brands performed well, too. Plano, Texas-based Frito-Lay’s Doritos placed sixth overall with a score of 881, while Pringles and Lay’s finished at No. 18 and No. 24 with scores of 857 and 849, respectively.
Other snack and candy brands that cracked parents’ top 25 brands included Chips Ahoy (863), Oreo (862) and Goldfish crackers (848).
Here is the full list, ranked by Parentfinity scores:
- Amazon: 909
- Crayola: 909
- Netflix: 908
- Google: 902
- Hershey's: 897
- M&M's: 888
- Doritos: 881
- Reese's: 875
- Halos: 870
- Kit Kat: 868
- Target: 864
- Chips Ahoy: 863
- Lego: 863
- Oreo: 862
- Nike: 861
- Scholastic: 860
- Twix: 857
- Pringles: 857
- Cuties: 855
- Uno: 854
- Snickers: 853
- Sharpie: 852
- YouTube: 851
- Lay's: 849
- Goldfish: 848
New York-based Smarty Pants is a market research consultancy that conducts youth and family research and guides marketers on brand positioning, new product development, consumer lifestyles and trends.
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