Mars sweetens Halloween celebrations for all, inviting everyone to join the magic
Mars Canada's Spooktacular Trends Report finds majority of Canadians plan to celebrate Halloween and unwraps opportunities to make the holiday extra inclusive
BOLTON, ON, Oct. 6, 2025 /CNW/ - Ghosts, goblins, and ghouls aren't the only ones gearing up this October – Canadians are, too! According to Mars Canada's second annual Spooktacular Trends Report, 2 in 3 Canadians plan to celebrate Halloween this year, with 80 per cent of Gen Z and Millennials leading the charge. As doorsteps transform into frightfully fun scenes, Mars – a family-owned, global leader in snacking, pet care and food, including brands like M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, Ben's Original™, PEDIGREE®, TEMPTATIONS™, and VCA™ – is on a mission to make Halloween 2025 a howling good time for people and pets alike by championing an inclusive holiday that welcomes everyone.
"At Mars, Halloween is core to our business, with planning starting years in advance to capture the excitement and evolving traditions Canadians love," says Ellen Thompson, Minister of Trick-or-Treat and General Manager, Mars Wrigley Canada. "Halloween is about bringing communities together, and we want every host to feel confident creating celebrations where everyone feels welcome, people and pets alike. With thoughtful considerations, we make the holiday inclusive, accessible, and even more magical for all."
The 2025 Spooktacular Trends Report highlights that more than half of Canadians planning to celebrate Halloween (54%) will be handing out candy. That said, while many hosts recognize the importance of accessibility, only 20% currently feel fully confident in creating set-ups that meet the needs of guests with physical and sensory barriers. Pets can also experience jitters too, with nearly half of pet parents (47%) saying their furry friends get spooked by loud noises, like doorbells.
Mars Canada is supporting Treat Accessibly to help make Halloween celebrations extra inclusive for all Canadians. VCA Canada Animal Hospitals is also sharing tips and tricks to ensure pets can join the Halloween fun in a truly paws-itive way.
To bring this vision to life, Mars is donating 11,000+ pounds of candy and pet treats to Treat Accessibly's annual Halloween Villages, which will welcome over 25,000 visitors nationwide. This will mark the first-year pet treats favourites such as Pedigree and Temptations will be provided, ensuring that furry friends including service animals can enjoy the festivities too.
"Thanks to Mars' donation, we're ensuring this year's Halloween Villages will be our most inclusive yet," says Rich Padulo, Dad and Co-Founder of Treat Accessibly North America. "From barrier-free trick-or-treating to treats for pets, we're thrilled to help communities experience the magic of Halloween together."
Mars Canada is inviting Canadians to help extend the magic of Halloween and commit to hosting a more inclusive trick-or-treating experience this year. Visit treataccessibly.com/halloween-villages-2025 to register for Treat Accessibly's 2025 Halloween Villages or to discover tips for hosting your own inclusive celebrations.
Ipsos Survey Methodology
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Mars. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians from the Ipsos i-Say panel were interviewed from September 12 to September 15, 2025. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample's composition reflects the overall population according to the latest Canadian census information. The precision of online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the results are accurate to within +2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all Canadian adults been polled. Credibility intervals are wider among subsets of the population.
About Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world.
Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 150,000+ dedicated Associates. With approximately $55 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands including Ben's Original™, CESAR®, EXCEL®, KIND®, M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®. We are creating a better world for pets through our global network of pet hospitals and diagnostic services – including AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™ – using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
SOURCE Mars, Incorporated
For further information: Mars Canada: Tamar Nersesian, [email protected]; Middle Child: Rebecca McLaren, [email protected]
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