Halloween treats are as sweet as ever, but the rising costs of candy may make consumers feel tricked this year.
Data shows Halloween candy prices are increasing faster than inflation, a squeeze experts attribute to conditions in the cocoa crop climate and increases in confectionary manufacturing costs.
Five years ago, a 100-count bag of assorted Halloween candy would have cost around $9 a bag. Today, this bag would cost around $16, according to research from the personal finance website FinanceBuzz.
“The era of cheap chocolate is over,” said Alexis Villacis, an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Ohio State University.
Soaring cocoa prices in recent years have changed the equation for many chocolate makers.
These prices have reached record highs amid poor harvests in West Africa, where about 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown, Villacis said. Rising temperatures, irregular rainfall and crop diseases linked to climate change have devastated cocoa yields. This created a half-million ton global cocoa deficit, where supply is far below demand, the largest in 60 years.
And because cocoa trees take four to five years to start producing cocoa beans, Villacis said, it will take time before new, more resilient crops can ease prices.
While cocoa prices had typically traded between $2,000 to $3,000 per metric ton, prices peaked at more than $10,000 early this year. David Branch, a sector manager at the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, said that the ripple effects are still working through the supply chain.
Most of the chocolate sold for Halloween was produced when cocoa was trading at the highest price. “Manufacturers had no choice but to raise prices just to break even,” he said.
Hershey’s raised chocolate prices by double digit percentages, according to its July statement, though this price adjustment will not affect Halloween candy.
Chocolate manufacturers are also reformulating their recipes, both Branch and Villacis said. Strategies include reducing the amount of cocoa in the chocolate and putting out new flavors that mix in lower-cost ingredients, such as caramel and nuts.
Non-chocolate candy has also seen price increases. According to Branch, general manufacturing costs for candy makers, including energy, labor and transportation, have risen 37% since early 2024, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index data.
Among the 73% of Americans who plan to celebrate the holiday this year, nearly all expect to buy candy, according to a survey from the National Retail Foundation, a trade group representing U.S. retailers. Halloween candy sales are projected to make up $3.9 billion of the $13.1 billion spent on Halloween this year. And 79% of shoppers anticipate higher prices specifically because of tariffs.
That said, Americans aren’t ready to give up their sweets.
“People still want their little pick-me-up,” Branch said.
Some shoppers find creative ways to stretch their candy budget. Kiersti Torok, a couponing content creator who has nearly 4 million followers on her Torok Coupon Hunter TikTok account, teaches her audience how to stack coupons and take advantage of promotions.
In one recent video, Torok used buy one, get one offers and promo codes at Walgreens to buy 14 bags of Skittles, Starburst, and Nerds — what would cost more than $90 at full price — for $36.
“People are feeling it,” Torok told NBC News, referring to price increases. “The Walgreens candy deal I do every year used to be about $1.50 a bag. This year, it ended up being $2.50 a bag.”
And she skipped letting her followers know about the chocolate deals altogether. Torok said that even after applying her deals, candies such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, and KitKat cost double the price of last year: “I didn’t share that option because I was like, man, that is really crazy outrageous.”
Torok bought most of her Halloween candy months ago, during Valentine’s Day clearance sales, and said she donated extras to a local foster care center’s trunk-or-treat event.
Her advice to viewers is her mother’s old saying: “Life by the inch is a cinch, life by the yard is hard. Plan ahead and make small adjustments, and it adds up.”
