Now that’s scary.
Halloween candy prices are rising faster than inflation, driven by poor cocoa crop conditions and higher costs associated with confectionery manufacturing, according to recent consumer data analyses.
A 100-count bag of Halloween candy that cost about $9 five years ago now costs around $16, according to FinanceBuzz, an increase of more than triple the rate of inflation.
“The era of cheap chocolate is over,” Alexis Villacis, an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Ohio State University, told NBC News.
Cocoa prices have hit record highs after poor harvests in West Africa, where most of the world’s cocoa is grown. Climate change–driven heat, erratic rainfall, and crop diseases have caused a half-million-ton global shortage, making it the largest in 60 years.
Cocoa prices, which typically ranged from $2,000 to $3,000 per metric ton, surged to the highest rate on record at more than $10,000 earlier this year.
David Branch of the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute told NBC News the impact of those soaring prices is still rippling through the supply chain.
Most of the chocolate made for this Halloween was produced when cocoa prices were at record highs, leaving manufacturers little choice but to raise prices to maintain profitability, Branch said.
Hershey’s, for example, said in July it would make changes, including decreasing some package sizes or increasing prices, by up to low double-digit percentages. However, the company said its July price hikes won’t affect specifically Halloween-packaged candy this year.
To manage costs, chocolate makers are also tweaking recipes by using less cocoa or incorporating cheaper ingredients like caramel and nuts, Branch and Villacis noted.
Even non-chocolate treats haven’t escaped inflation. Overall manufacturing expenses for candy producers, including energy, labor, and transportation, have jumped 37 percent since early 2024, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by Branch.
About 73 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year, and nearly all say they’ll buy candy, according to the National Retail Federation.
Candy sales are expected to total $3.9 billion of the $13.1 billion spent on the holiday, with 79 percent of shoppers anticipating higher prices due to tariffs.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump’s tariff increase on Chinese goods temporarily pushed rates as high as 145 percent, causing importers to pause production. The resulting slowdown led to tighter Halloween candy and merchandise supplies, driving prices higher.
The National Retail Federation projects Americans will spend a record $114.45 per person on Halloween this year, about $11 more than in 2024.
The Halloween and Costume Association estimates that nearly 90 percent of all Halloween products include at least one imported component, making the industry especially vulnerable to tariff-related cost increases.
