Haribo sharing bags are the UK’s most popular Halloween order on Deliveroo in 2026, followed by strawberries and Cadbury Dairy Milk, highlighting demand for both traditional treats and alternatives as convenience retailers prepare for the seasonal rush.
The delivery platform’s top 10 list also featured Swizzels, pumpkins, nuts and raisins, Maoam, and Maltesers. Pumpkin orders rose by around a quarter compared with 2024, while nuts and raisins ranked seventh as some shoppers opted for alternatives to sweets and chocolate.
For convenience retailers, the findings point to opportunities across confectionery, crisps, fresh fruit and seasonal products, with demand extending beyond traditional Halloween sweets.
Last-minute shopping drives demand
Halloween shopping remained a last-minute affair, with half of all Halloween-day essentials ordered by just after 3pm. Orders surged between 4pm and 5pm, while almost a third arrived after 5pm as after-school trick-or-treating began.
York, Cambridge and London were among the least organised cities, with more than a third of orders placed after 5pm. Glasgow, Sheffield and Leicester recorded the highest levels of sweet orders in the two hours before trick-or-treating.
Pumpkins were the most popular Halloween decoration essential, with two in five ordered during the final two days before Halloween. Nottingham saw more than half of its pumpkin orders placed during that period, followed by Edinburgh, London, Cardiff and Bournemouth.
Deliveroo said this year’s Saturday Halloween was expected to bring an earlier and more sustained rush, with parties adding to demand alongside trick-or-treating.
Fruit, nuts and savoury snacks join the mix
While sweets and chocolate remained popular, Deliveroo also identified demand for fruit and nuts in cities including London, Cambridge, Aberdeen, Oxford and Edinburgh. Orders included almonds, raisins, sultanas, cashews and walnuts, alongside strawberries, bananas and blueberries. In Oxford, nut orders on Halloween last year rose by nearly half compared with the previous week.
Savoury party foods also featured, with houmous, dips, sausage rolls and pickled onion Monster Munch among the popular choices in Edinburgh, Brighton, Oxford, Cambridge and York. Edinburgh saw orders for these “picky bits” rise by almost 20 per cent on Halloween.
Suzy McClintock, Deliveroo’s vice-president of consumer, said the Saturday timing meant demand could build throughout the day as households prepared for parties and trick-or-treating.
For convenience stores, the findings highlight the importance of preparing for both planned Halloween purchases and the late rush, with sharing bags of sweets, chocolate, crisps, pumpkins and party snacks all featuring in orders.