NEW YORK — Like sour candy more than other flavors? It’s possible you might be an extrovert. That’s just one takeaway from a new survey of 2,000 candy lovers which finds a person’s preference for certain sweets may say a lot about their personality and lifestyle choices.
In addition to being extroverted (59%), sour candy connoisseurs also identified themselves as more “eccentric” (53%), “funny” (50%), and “sarcastic” (51%). Meanwhile, chocolate lovers tended to describe themselves as “optimistic” (76%) and “shy” (67%). Fans of mint were most likely to say they’re “thoughtful” (78%).
Conducted on behalf of Jelly Belly Candy Company in advance of National Jelly Bean Day on April 22, the survey by OnePoll also digs deeper into the habits and beliefs of sweets lovers.
America has a serious sweet tooth
People who eat candy every day were more likely to identify as “night owls” instead of “early birds,” (43% vs. 17%).
Overall, three in four respondents eat candy at least once a week, and more than one in four (27%) claim to eat it every day. While 42 percent would offer to share their candy with friends or family members, almost two in 10 would keep it all to themselves – including twice as many women than men.
The poll also asked its 2,000 respondents – all of whom expressed a fondness for jelly beans beforehand – to pick their all-time favorite jelly bean flavor for even more specific personality mapping.
“National Jelly Bean Day offers one day a year for flavor feuds that dominate the jelly bean world to take center stage,” says Rob Swaigen, Vice President of Global Marketing at Jelly Belly Candy Company, in a statement. “Whatever flavor you prefer, we love any opportunity to celebrate what makes you uniquely you through candy.”
What do your candy preferences say about you?
Sour lemon jelly bean fanatics mirrored their sharp-tongue taste preferences in their personality, with 69 percent identifying as “honest.”
Cherry jelly bean lovers were more likely to be dog people (38%), while buttered popcorn lovers favored cats (43%) — and cotton candy fans are most likely to consider themselves not animal people (13%). Age may also play a factor in the type of jelly bean flavor you prefer. Almost one in five baby boomers say licorice is their favorite, compared to just six percent of Gen Z.
For pear jelly bean lovers, “eccentricity” is a common personality type. Close to six in 10 align with that description, putting them alongside cherry (68%) and buttered popcorn (59%) fans as the most likely to consider themselves eccentric.
Just because two-thirds (67%) of orange jelly bean lovers like to volunteer in their free time doesn’t mean they’d give lottery money to a charitable cause. Orange lovers were also the most likely to invest the money if they won (38%).
However, cherry jelly bean lovers are going off the grid. Perhaps because 79 percent identify as introverts, 29 percent would purchase their own private island if they won the lottery.
“Just as no two personalities are alike, no two flavor preferences are alike either,” Swaigen adds.