This #Halloween , you”ll find many Gen Zers handing out candy for Trick or Treat
By Mike Black · September 30, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
This #Halloween, you”ll find many Gen Zers handing out candy for Trick or Treaters vs Trick or Treating themselves
That's because each year, more of these teens and young 20 somethings are stepping in the roles of being parents
For years, candy brands have been fighting to win consideration with Gen Z “teens” and the winners and losers of the battle will show up in the brands #GenZ considers as parents
Which has much higher stakes because we're talking about purchasing happening for the household and loyalties that will transfer to the kids of Gen Z (Generation Beta)
You can see this dynamic play out when you look at the difference in cultural resonance for #candy brands across Gen Z and #Millennial parents
Yes, we see a lot of the same brands ranking high with both Gen Z and Millennial parents
But we also see some differences
The significance of this is important
At Collage, we've correlated that a 1ppt increase in cultural resonance leads to 0.79% increass purchase intent
So if a brand like Justin's or Trolli were to increase cultural resonance with Gen Z parents by 5 or 10 ppts over the next 2 years, it would result in a significant gain incremental new consumers and revenue acquired, likely stolen from brands who are aging out
My point is:
It's important to study nuances among young parents and particularly, the emotional and psychographic factors that drive cultural resonance and brand consideration for one brand over another
We know kids (#GenAlpha) have a large say in what candy comes in the house, but it's often a negotiation not a dictatorship
There's never been a better time for challenger #brands to rock the status quo
#topgenzbrands #topmillenialbrands #culturalintelligence #growth