Trick, Treat & Trend: What's Hot in Innovation This Spooky Season?

Halloween, my favorite of the ‘nonsense’ holidays. What was once a single night of itchy costumes, desperately scrubbing fake blood off your mum’s cream carpet and demanding snacks from your neighbors, has evolved into a global season of creativity, nostalgia and playful indulgence. Across categories, brands are tapping into cultural rituals and fan-driven aesthetics - from trick-or-treats for pets to luxury candles, spooky season is serving limited editions that blend novelty with comfort.

Here are some of my favorites for 2025…
 

Confectionery: Nostalgia Gets a Spooky Glow-Up.

As you’d expect, this time of year gives confectionery brands the green light to go ‘all in’ – turning snack cupboard favorites into ghoulish limited editions.

This year, Mars Wrigley brings back fan favorites while introducing new, limited SKUs like M&M’s Pumpkin Pie, Snickers Pumpkins, and ’Ghoulish Green’ Twix.

Hershey’s is serving up Kit Kat Counts (vampire-shaped) and seasonal spins like Pumpkin Spice Latte Nuggets and Reese’s Mini Pumpkins.

Mondelez is on it, of course, with Oreo Spooky Colored Crème snack packs – featuring glow in the dark packaging and spooky cookie designs with a two-toned crème. 

Plus, Sour Patch Kids Strawberry-Watermelon Glow Ups, featuring turmeric-powered flecks that light up under a blacklight… (blacklight sold separately!) 

Halloween hot take #1: Creepy confectionery is going beyond novelty in 2025, with brands investing in more experiential pack and product designs for truly Instagrammable content.
 

Beverages: Spooky Experiences Beyond the Glass.

Pumpkin Spice Latte is ubiquitous with this season. I don’t think there’s a category that hasn’t seen a pumpkin spice something or other. Its annual appearance on coffee shop menus signals that it's time to dust off our big jumpers and stompy boots. But what else is going on in the bev scene this year?

Fanta is leading with its boldest ever global campaign: limited-edition cans featuring 5 horror icons, plus new ‘mystery’ flavour Chucky’s Punch. Pack designs include scannable QR codes that unlock exclusive digital content and retail activations, as well as some formats available only via freestyle machines or select cinemas and theme parks. 

In spirits, Espolòn Tequila launched Flor de Oro, a Día de los Muertos-inspired reposado infused with natural marigold extract. Yes please.

And I’m also anticipating Bacardí will be back for another year with its “mummified” bottle, alongside glow-in-the-dark treatments for seasonal merchandising and cocktail promos that we’ve seen before.

Halloween hot take #2: From horror-film crossovers to cultural rituals like Día de los Muertos, seasonal drinks show how brands use limited editions to immerse consumers in experiences beyond the glass.
 

Beauty: Halloween Self-Care is a Thing.

Who knew! Gone are the days of cheap face paint and fake blood that stains EVERYTHING in sight, these brands are taking the season seriously.

Tree Hut’s Glow Potion collection is having its moment on socials, tapping into nostalgia with scents like Sweet Punkin and Frankenshine. Leaning heavily into Halloween aesthetics with character-driven illustrations, nostalgic Halloween motifs and potion vibes – Tree Hut has intentionally designed this innovation to be both collectible and visually striking in a merch / seasonal shelf context. 

ColourPop launched its ‘Spooky Shop’, offering curated Halloween makeup bundles and tutorial videos, making spooky beauty more accessible.

Lush's 2025 Halloween range features new items like “Monster Mashup” bath bombs and headless monster bubble bars, but we’re also seeing the brand extend further into household care territory – with Pumpkin Spice room spray and their first ever bath bomb tea-light diffuser (which doubles as a home fragrance). Guess where my disposable income is going this month…

Halloween Hot Take #3: Beauty brands are fusing playfulness and pampering. Halloween is the perfect excuse to deliver indulgent rituals and champion self-expression, on October 31st and long after.
 

Petcare: Trick or Treats for Furry Friends.

Unsurprisingly, our pets are increasingly part of the Halloween story. Pet costumes, food, treats, toys and accessories are tapping into the same pumpkin spice and spooky motifs that dominate other categories. But what’s interesting is how this trend reflects the way we humanize our furry companions, bringing them into the rituals and aesthetics of the season.

Lily’s Kitchen in the UK has launched a limited-edition Halloween line including Hocus Pocus Stew for dogs, Halloween Mini Burgers, and Chicken with Pumpkin Pâté for cats.

Milk-Bone’s Original Biscuits now come in Halloween shapes - ghost, bat, monster and pumpkin - inside a seasonal pail packaging.

Pumpkin Spice Probiotic Meaty Treats from Pooch & Mutt are limited-edition, seasonal dog treats that bring “pumpkin spice and everything nice” to pups. This isn’t just a novelty pumpkin treat, Pooch & Mutt has layered in collagen, probiotics and “clean” positioning to blend seasonal flavor with functional benefits.

The brand has also published a seasonal ‘Pup Cup’ recipe on their blog, using the treat as a fun way for dog owners to co-experience the fall season with their pets, and show how the product can fit into everyday rituals.

Halloween hot take #4: Pets are family, and brands know it. From pumpkin-infused dog treats to limited-edition dinners, the pet category is proof that seasonalisation knows no limits. Halloween is about making sure every family member (two- or four-legged) can join the fun. Pet care brands are leaning into novelty, indulgence and Instagrammable moments, showing that in 2025, seasonal experiences truly extend to the full household.
 

Home & Lifestyle: Seasonal Scents & Atmospheric Vibes

And finally, beyond carving pumpkins and sticking up spooky bunting to decorate the house, here are a few products from household categories that are enticing consumers to try something a little different this year.

Bath & Body Works’ have gone all out with their Halloween 2025 collection, introducing new flavors Midnight Spell and Wicked Vanilla Woods across multiple formats (candles, soaps, diffusers) – which are already sold out in some countries. They’re even launching returning seasonal scent Vampire Blood in to laundry care this year... the jury's out on how well consumers respond to the idea of putting 'blood' in their washing machines!

Diptyque elevates the category with Citrouille, a chic pumpkin-pie-inspired luxury limited edition candle that is truly exclusive (I’m ashamed to admit I’ve joined a waitlist to purchase this.)

Other seasonal launches like Dawn’s Pumpkin Spice dish spray and Mr Clean’s Spiced Harvest all-purpose cleaner, show how even everyday brands are leaning into autumn rituals of warmth, fragrance, and mood.

Halloween hot take #5: Home fragrance and décor have become as central to Halloween as candy. The focus is on creating ambience - cosy, spooky, or both - that helps create a warm, seasonal atmosphere even while washing the dishes or doing the laundry.

Key Takeaways for Halloween 2025

• Cross-category storytelling is booming - from film tie-ins to cultural celebrations, Halloween is now a global stage for co-branding and experiences.
  
  Ask yourself: Where could your brand borrow cultural codes (film tie-ins, seasonal rituals, or fandoms) to create richer consumer experiences, maybe even outside your core category?
   
• Nostalgia remains powerful - pumpkin spice, gothic design and retro horror all keep consumers emotionally connected.
  
  R&D & Insight teams: Explore how heritage flavors, retro aesthetics, or even discontinued SKUs could be revived in limited editions. Nostalgia consistently drives emotional buy-in and social shareability.
   
• Home and self-care are the new frontiers - beauty and household brands are successfully expanding Halloween into lifestyle.
  
  Marketing opportunity: Don’t limit seasonal innovation to obvious categories. Extend into lifestyle touchpoints (cleaning, beauty, fragrance) where consumers are most open to novelty and mood-setting.
   
• Limited editions as low-risk R&D pilots. The Product Hub Team are big advocates of iterative innovation (our entire platform has been designed to help brands do this at scale!)
  
  Strategy: Seasonal SKUs let brands test flavors, scents, pack formats, adjacent categories or brand collabs safely - with built-in exit strategies if they flop. Treat them as agile “real world prototypes.”

We’re watching how these launches show a shift from holiday-specific products toward seasonal ecosystems - where food, drink, beauty, and home all align to create richer, multi-sensory consumer experiences.

Laura Smith is Associate Director of Product Marketing at Product Hub by MMR.