Halloween is only a week away and, fittingly, National Chocolate Day happens to fall on October 28th. In celebration of trick-or-treat-ers and chocolate lovers, BetKentucky.com is pivoting from our typical Kentucky sports betting coverage to find out which chocolate candy is most popular in the Bluegrass State.
We began by looking at data website Statista’s research on the most consumed chocolate candy in the U.S.A. Then we took the favorites from across the nation and ran the results through Google Trends to localize the information based on search volume interest in Kentucky between October 1st, 2022, and October 18th, 2023.
Must be present in KY and 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
Most Popular Chocolate Candy By State
We determined the three most popular chocolate candies in each state using this formula. Check out the chart below to see what Kentucky’s favorite is.
| State | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|
| Alabama | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Kit Kat | Snickers |
| Alaska | Snickers | M&M’s | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| Arizona | Kit Kat | Snickers | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| Arkansas | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Snickers | M&M’s |
| California | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Kit Kat | Milky Way |
| Colorado | M&M’s | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| Connecticut | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | M&M’s | Twix |
| Delaware | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Milky Way | Snickers |
| Florida | Milky Way | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| Georgia | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Twix | Kit Kat |
| Hawaii | M&M’s | Twix | Snickers |
| Idaho | Snickers | Kit Kat | Twix |
| Illinois | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Milky Way | Snickers |
| Indiana | Snickers | Milky Way | Butterfinger |
| Iowa | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Kit Kat | Snickers |
| Kansas | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | M&M’s | Kit Kat |
| Kentucky | Butterfinger | Kit Kat | Twix |
| Louisiana | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | M&M’s | Hershey’s Milk Chocolate |
| Maine | Kit Kat | Twix | M&M’s |
| Maryland | Milky Way | Snickers | Butterfinger |
| Massachusetts | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Snickers | M&M’s |
| Michigan | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Twix |
| Minnesota | Kit Kat | Butterfinger | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| Mississippi | Kit Kat | M&M’s | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| Missouri | Milky Way | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Kit Kat |
| Montana | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Twix | Hershey’s Milk Chocolate |
| Nebraska | Milky Way | Twix | Snickers |
| Nevada | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Twix |
| New Hampshire | M&M’s | Snickers | Butterfinger |
| New Jersey | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Milky Way | Snickers |
| New Mexico | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | M&M’s |
| New York | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Twix |
| North Carolina | Snickers | M&M’s | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| North Dakota | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Hershey’s Milk Chocolate | Kit Kat |
| Ohio | M&M’s | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Milky Way |
| Oklahoma | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Twix | Kit Kat |
| Oregon | Twix | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Butterfinger |
| Pennsylvania | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Milky Way | Twix |
| Rhode Island | Snickers | Twix | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| South Carolina | Kit Kat | M&M’s | Hershey’s Milk Chocolate |
| South Dakota | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Snickers |
| Tennessee | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Kit Kat | Twix |
| Texas | Snickers | M&M’s | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| Utah | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Milky Way | Twix |
| Vermont | Kit Kat | Twix | M&M’s |
| Virginia | Twix | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | M&M’s |
| Washington | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Butterfinger |
| West Virginia | Snickers | Kit Kat | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups |
| Wisconsin | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Twix | Butterfinger |
| Wyoming | M&M’s | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Hershey’s Milk Chocolate |
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Nobody Better Lay a Finger on Kentucky's Butterfingers
According to our results, the chocolate bar touted by Bart Simpson throughout the 1990s is the number one chocolate candy. In fact, there’s no state in America that loves Butterfingers more. The Bluegrass State was the only one that preferred the chocolate-coated, peanut-buttery bar above all other chocolate treats. Meanwhile, Minnesota is the only state to rate it as their second favorite. In Maryland, New Hampshire, Indiana, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, Butterfingers is the third most popular chocolate candy, according to our research experiment.
Butterfingers were invented by Otto Young Schnering in the 1920s, the founder of the Chicago-based Curtiss Candy Co., who is also responsible for the creation of the Baby Ruth bar. Ownership of the Curtiss Candy Co. brands has bounced around over the years, including a stint with Swiss-owned mega-food corporation Nestlé. But in 2018 the Italian chocolate giant Ferrero bought up a huge chunk of Nestlé’s candy portfolio in a $2.8 billion dollar deal.
Today, the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidy of Ferrero, is responsible for the Butterfinger brand and manufacturing — which primarily takes place in a Franklin Park, IL facility, just on the outskirts of the candy bar’s native Chicago. Globally, there are over 1.62 billion Butterfingers bars made each year. As you may have noticed, following the 2018 acquisition, Butterfinger’s underwent a slight re-brand — as well as a change in the recipe. Although some have complained about the new taste, clearly Kentuckians don’t mind.
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Break KY Off a Piece of That Kit Kat Bar
The second most popular chocolate candy in Kentucky is the Kit Kat bar. Across all of America, Kit Kats were ranked as the top choice for 12 states. That is second to only Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, which were the chocolate of choice for 19 different states.
Kit Kats were created in the United Kingdom during the 1930s after a worker slipped an idea into the company’s suggestion box for a chocolate candy that could easily be brought into work. Ever since, Kit Kat has been associated with a “break” from the job — with its sticks of chocolate-covered wafers designed to “break” apart.
However, anyone who spent time in front of the boob tube during the late '80s and 1990s, probably most closely associates Kit Kats with the “Gimme a Break” advertising campaign. The instantly singable commercial has been re-made several times and is amongst the most recognizable jingles of all time.
Twix Bars Come in as Third Favorite
Kentucky’s third most popular chocolate confection is the Twix bar, which happens to be the favorite in both Virginia and Oregon. The caramel-shortbread concoction comes with two separate chocolate-covered mini-sticks — hence the inspiration of its name being a combo of the words “twin sticks”
While chocolate candy remains popular with people of all ages, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve outgrown trick-or-treating. But don’t worry, BetKentucky.com is here to treat you to the latest Kentucky sportsbook promos from all the best KY sportsbooks.
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Author
Jeff Parker is a writer for BetKentucky.com. A writer for film, television, and the internet, Jeff is a life long movie buff, with an actual Masters Degree in Popular Culture. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he works full-time as a documentary filmmaker and producer.
