--- title: "Hershey's vs M&M's: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Hershey's or M&M's more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Chocolate brands set in the United States. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/hersheys-vs-m-and-ms" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Hershey's vs M&M's: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Hershey's or M&M's more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Chocolate brands set in the United States. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Hershey's and M&M's - **Competitive set**: Chocolate brands - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Hershey's Share of Search**: 20.1% - **M&M's Share of Search**: 16.5% ## Is Hershey's or M&M's more popular in search? - In September 2026, Hershey's had more branded searches than M&M's among chocolate brands in the United States. Hershey's had about 201,000 branded searches, while M&M's had 165,000. Hershey's made up 20.1% of all chocolate brand searches we track, and M&M's accounted for 16.5%. - The lead changed hands 3 times in the 12 months ending September 2026: Hershey's took it in December 2025, M&M's took it in June 2026, Hershey's took it in July 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Hershey's’ share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States moved from 13.4% to 20.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 201K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, M&M's’ share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States moved from 16.4% to 16.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 246K to 165K. ## Top chocolate brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Hershey's was mentioned in two out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. M&M's did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Lindt | 1st | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Ghirardelli | 2nd | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Valrhona | 3rd | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Hershey's | 4th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Hu | 4th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Tony's Chocolonely | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Snickers | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Twix | 8th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | M&M's | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Reese's | Not ranked | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | KitKat | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about chocolate brands - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best chocolate brand?": 1. Lindt, 2. Ghirardelli, 3. Valrhona, 4. Tony's Chocolonely - Asked ChatGPT "Which candy bar is the most popular in the US?": 1. Snickers, 2. Reese's, 3. Hershey's, 4. Twix - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best chocolate to give as a gift?": named none of the brands we track - Searched Google, AI Overview "chocolate brands": 1. Hershey's, 2. Lindt, 3. Ghirardelli, 4. Tony's Chocolonely, 5. Valrhona, 6. Snickers, 7. Twix - Searched Google, AI Overview "best chocolate": 1. Hu, 2. Valrhona, 3. Lindt, 4. Ghirardelli Not named in any answer: M&M's and KitKat. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 27, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States chocolate brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Hershey's gained share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States, from 18.4% to 20.1%. - In September 2026, M&M's gained share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States, from 15% to 16.5%. ## Month by month | Month | Hershey's estimated searches | Hershey's Share of Search | Hershey's rank | M&M's estimated searches | M&M's Share of Search | M&M's rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 201K | 13.4% | 3 | 246K | 16.4% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 165K | 13.9% | 2 | 165K | 13.9% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | 165K | 14% | 2 | 135K | 11.4% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | 165K | 16% | 2 | 135K | 13.1% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | 165K | 15.1% | 2 | 165K | 15.1% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | 165K | 14.1% | 2 | 165K | 14.1% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | 165K | 14.9% | 2 | 165K | 14.9% | 3 | | May 2026 | 165K | 16.3% | 1 | 165K | 16.3% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 135K | 13.3% | 2 | 368K | 36.2% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 135K | 17.6% | 1 | 110K | 14.4% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 165K | 18.4% | 1 | 135K | 15% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 201K | 20.1% | 1 | 165K | 16.5% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Hershey's’ and M&M's’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Hershey's**: Measured on the search term “hershey's”. - **M&M's**: Measured on the search term “m&ms”. - [Hershey's profile](/demand/us/brands/hersheys) - [M&M's profile](/demand/us/brands/m-and-ms) - [All chocolate brands in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-chocolate-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 11 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Hershey's or M&M's more popular in search? In September 2026, Hershey's had more branded searches than M&M's among chocolate brands in the United States. Hershey's had about 201,000 branded searches, while M&M's had 165,000. Hershey's made up 20.1% of all chocolate brand searches we track, and M&M's accounted for 16.5%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Hershey's vs M&M's: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/hersheys-vs-m-and-ms This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/hersheys-vs-m-and-ms. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.