Hershey Is Bringing Its “Healthy” Snacks To Halloween

Hershey is known for chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, and the annual race to see how early we’re willing to start buying Halloween candy. This year, though, the company is bringing something slightly less expected to the spooky season: popcorn.

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SkinnyPop, Pirate’s Booty, and LesserEvil are all joining Hershey’s 2026 Halloween lineup, giving the company’s “better-for-you” snack brands their own place in a holiday usually dominated by fun-size candy bars and enough sugar to keep a neighborhood awake until December.

Because apparently even Halloween needs a healthy-ish option now, too.

Yes, Hershey Owns SkinnyPop

If you didn’t realize Hershey’s portfolio extends beyond candy, you’re not alone. The company has spent years building out a salty-snack business alongside its chocolate, and SkinnyPop, Pirate’s Booty, and LesserEvil all now sit under the same corporate roof as your Halloween Kisses.

So while the Hershey name may still conjure up images of chocolate, it’s become responsible for quite a few snacks that have nothing to do with chocolate whatsoever.

Now, some of those brands are getting a Halloween makeover.

Halloween Is Getting Some Popcorn

The salty additions are more specific than just “popcorn in a spooky bag.” SkinnyPop is showing up as individually portioned popcorn packs in Halloween-themed packaging, made to be handed out for trick-or-treating. Pirate’s Booty is bringing its aged white cheddar puffs in snack-size bags. And LesserEvil, appearing in Hershey’s Halloween lineup for the first time, is going full autumn with Pumpkin Spice Popcorn.

There are pretzels in the mix, too, though those keep a foot in the candy camp: Reese’s Dipped Pretzels and Reese’s Filled Pretzels round out the salty-ish additions for anyone who wants the crunch without fully giving up the chocolate.

It’s an interesting alternative to the traditional Halloween candy pile. Instead of giving a child a miniature chocolate bar that will disappear in approximately four seconds, you could hand them a bag of popcorn.

Whether that earns you a thank-you or gets you forever removed from the neighborhood’s favorite-house list remains to be seen.

These Are Still Treats

Of course, “better-for-you” doesn’t mean we’re suddenly talking about health food. These snacks are still being marketed as fun Halloween treats, just without making chocolate and sugar the entire substance of the snack.

Hershey has been pretty direct about why it’s expanding these brands into Halloween. One company executive told Reuters that the move reflects the shift toward more health-conscious eating, while Halloween itself has expanded beyond the traditional candy bowl. Shoppers are looking for options that work for different dietary preferences, and some families don’t necessarily want to hand out the same assortment of chocolate every year.

The salty snacks give Hershey a way to participate in that shift without abandoning the candy that made it Hershey in the first place.

Hershey’s Halloween Portfolio Is Getting Bigger

The salty snacks aren’t replacing Hershey’s traditional Halloween candy. They’re joining it, as part of a 2026 lineup with more than 20 product additions across chocolate, candy, and salty snacks.

There’s also a reason Hershey is confident people will buy early: its own research found that nearly two-thirds of parents had already stocked up on Halloween candy before summer even ended, with half entering what the company calls “Halloween mode” well ahead of October.

So the extra-early candy panic I mentioned earlier? Hershey has the data to prove it’s real.

It’s also a reminder that Hershey is a much bigger snack company than its candy-aisle reputation suggests. If you’ve ever looked at a bag of SkinnyPop and thought, “This has absolutely nothing to do with Hershey,” you’re going to have to rethink that one.

And this Halloween, it’s getting a spooky little bag to prove it.