NEW YORK -- Your faithful candy bar now comes in Mocha Cappuccino flavor. That peppermint patty is in the shape of a pumpkin. And Hershey's Kisses? They've got candy corn stripes.

Shoppers trawling the candy aisle as Halloween approaches might be excused from feeling overwhelmed, as candy makers are producing more size, shape and flavor varieties for well-known brands than ever before.

Consumers are expected to spend about $2.18 billion on candy for Halloween this year, according to the National Confectioners Association, and candy makers are betting that variety and more variety will spark their interest.

This year for Halloween, for example, Mars Inc. is selling a new "Minis Mix" of Twix, 3 Musketeers, Snickers and Milky Way, in addition to its slightly larger fun-size bags of each of the candy bars. And it will introduce a 3 Musketeers "Minis Mix" with different flavors of the bar including Strawberry, French Vanilla and Mocha Cappuccino.

Hershey Co., meanwhile, which started the candy downsizing trend with Hershey's Miniatures in 1939, is introducing York Peppermint Patties in pumpkin shapes, Kissables in Halloween colors and a limited edition of Kisses in distinctive white, orange and yellow candy-corn colors. William Wrigley Jr. Co. is offering new variety bags for its Life Savers Gummies.

"People like variety, especially at Halloween, when you're trick or treating," said Ryan Bowling, a spokesman for Mars US. "We found through popular feedback that mixes have become very valuable and affordable. It's just making more variety available for the consumer."

Kirk Saville, a spokesman for Hershey, also said brand extensions allow consumers "new, fun ways to enjoy Halloween treats."

But when a consumer mulling buying Kit Kats for Halloween can choose between Hershey's Kit Kat minis, snack-size Kit Kats or standard-size Kit Kats with "ghoulish" designs such as vampires on the front -- not to mention different Kit Kat flavors -- how much variety is too much?

"I think the candy situation is a bit out of control," said Margarita Miranda-Abate, a Westfield, N.J., mother of a 2-1/2-year-old. "There are so many options to buy that at the end of the day, I just take a bag of what has the most and I keep it simple."

Barry Schwartz, a psychologist at Swarthmore College and author of The Paradox of Choice, says consumers find variety appealing, but studies have shown that in terms of actual satisfaction, they prefer tried-and-true favorites.

"Consumers think they like variety," he said. "But they would actually rather eat the same candy over and over again. They predict they'll get tired of Snickers and go with Snickers, Three Musketeer and Kit Kats. But actually, they'd be happier with three Snickers."

"Everyone thinks variety is good and overestimates the satisfaction that comes with variety."

Selling more candy isn't the only goal: The new sizes and limited-edition flavors are in part a way to test out new products, said Joyce Weinberg, confectionary expert and president of food company Confection Zone Inc. in New York.

And as consumers grow more health conscious, smaller sizes offer smaller portions -- at least for those with a bit of self-restraint.

Susan Fussell, senior director of communications for the National Confectioners Association, said parents can use smaller snacks to talk to their kids about healthier eating.

"For parents concerned about portion, bite-size candies make it really easy to portion out candy," she said. "Halloween, or other times of the year where there's food coming into the house that isn't typically there, are a really great launching pad to talking to kids about diet and nutrition."

If consumers know exactly what they want, Schwartz said, then a store stocked with many varieties of candy is good, because it makes it more likely it will have exactly what consumers want.

However, "how often do people know exactly what they want?" he said. "My sense is almost never."

"If you give them too many options, people are paralyzed and end up walking out with nothing," Schwartz said.

Lisbeth Echeandia, a consultant to candy trade magazine Confectioners Magazine, said there is a limit to how many different sizes candy makers can offer.

"It has to make sense money-wise. At a certain point you start to cannibalize your own product," Echeandia said. "But right now (the variety of sizes) is probably about right."

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