In celebration of National Sour Candy Day, CivicScience explored candy purchasing habits among fans of both sour and sweet candy by examining two popular brands: Sour Patch Kids and Haribo gummies. In a comprehensive survey conducted over a year, CivicScience gathered insights from 70,577 U.S. users. The results reveal intriguing distinctions between the two groups of candy buyers.
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Age is a key differentiator: 24% of Sour Patch Kids buyers are aged 18–24, versus 17% of Haribo buyers. In contrast, 22% of Haribo buyers fall in the 35–44 bracket, compared to 21% for Sour Patch Kids.
Gender differences are also clear. Women make up 58% of Sour Patch Kids buyers and 61% of Haribo buyers.
Income further separates the two groups. Sour Patch Kids buyers are more likely to earn under $30,000 (24% vs. 23%). Haribo attracts slightly more high-income buyers, with 7% earning $150,000–$199,999, compared to 6% for Sour Patch Kids.
Parental status is evenly split: 49% of buyers of both candies are parents. However, 17% of Haribo buyers are grandparents, versus 14% for Sour Patch Kids.
Urbanicity shows little variation. Both brands have similar distributions across urban, suburban, and rural areas, with 39% of buyers from the suburbs.
Education levels vary subtly. Sour Patch Kids buyers are more likely to hold a high school diploma or GED (31% vs. 27%). Haribo buyers are slightly more likely to have a graduate or professional degree (10% vs. 9%).
These insights highlight the importance of demographic nuance in consumer behavior, offering strategic guidance for targeted marketing and brand positioning.
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This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.