NEW YORK &#8212 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.

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 candy-corn colors.

“People like variety, especially at Halloween, when you’re trick or treating,” said Ryan Bowling, a spokesman for Mars US.

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 two-and-a-half-year old. “There are so many options that 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.”