Higher Candy Prices Shift Halloween Spending Trends

Soaring cocoa and ingredient costs — with cocoa prices having more than tripled since 2020 and analysts warning of a cocoa deficit — have pushed up retail chocolate and candy prices, with some large Halloween packs now retailing around $18–$20. Higher input costs have reduced everyday chocolate purchases (chocolate volumes down about 6% while price per pound rose roughly 14%), fueling demand growth for non‑chocolate sweets (non‑chocolate Halloween sales up about 8.3%) and lifting gummies and hard candies. 2025 is forecast to be a record year for Halloween candy spending, at roughly $3.9 billion, with trends favoring Reese’s, gummy innovations and texture‑forward products like freeze‑dried candy. Retailers and chains — including discount and international grocers such as Aldi and Asda — are responding with promotions, low‑priced themed launches and seasonal discounts to capture budget shoppers. Craft chocolatiers say rising costs are squeezing margins but could shift some demand toward higher‑quality chocolate. Consumer behavior is mixed: average planned spend is down from about $131 to roughly $99 for many shoppers, some households still report spending over $200, and a slightly higher share of Americans say they intend to celebrate this year.