Halloween does the trick for sweet sales
become an important trading period for confectioners.
And little wonder sweet makers are set to benefit from trick or treating fever as thousands of chocolate bars, jellies, gums and sugary products are handed out from door to door.
Among the companies targeting the rush is US food firm Kraft with its European brand Milka.
To keep up with the haunted holiday, Milka has launched ceramic pumpkin and ghost shaped containers filled with milk chocolate shapes as well as offering its standard chocolate bars Kurbisse and Milchkurbisse in pumpkin shapes.
The pumpkin theme continues with UK luxury chocolate company Thorntons rolling out a Pumpkin Lolly made of orange and milk chocolate alongside a Skeleton Lolly version. Both are priced at £0.65 (€0.97).
The online retailer is also hoping to boost sales through the Halloween gift market with Spider Boxes (£1.99/€2.98) and a Big Bat Bag (£10.00/€15.00) - both of which contain the lollies and other items including Spooky treats, a 130g bag of chocolate coins, and Mini Pumpkin Balls made from milk chocolate.
German fruit gum maker Haribo, who claim to hold the largest share of the global gummie market, has traditionally catered for younger consumers and is therefore keen to corner the Halloween market.
This year, the firm has introduced Horror Mix, which consists of jellies in the shape of snakes, spiders, bats and frogs and Magic Mix, made up of broom, owl, cauldron and ghost gums.
Both are sold in 175g bags for £1.15 (€1.72) but the bumper sized option is still available to consumers with a 1,250g drum on sale for £4.99 (€7.46)
Aside from new ghoulish novelty products rolled out at this time of year, some companies are employing a different set of tactics to reach the older generation of consumers with more mature marketing strategies.
In the UK, Nestlé, who produce the KitKat and Smarties brands, is using the opportunity to generate interest in its Carnation condensed milk brand by advertising recipes based around the product.
On the company's website, consumers can find recipes for 'Fiendish Pumpkin Tray Bake' and 'Black Jack Toffee' as well as tips and ideas for children's Halloween parties.
And rival chocolate maker Cadbury Schweppes has gone one step further by offering consumers the chance to send Halloween-style e-cards from the company's UK website.
