Halloween candy aisles are changing due to sky-high cocoa prices

Trick-or-treaters can expect to see a trend this is halloween This might be scary for some: There are fewer chocolate candies in their bags than in years past.

A shortage of cocoa beans last year caused prices for the key ingredient in chocolate to soar, leading candy companies and consumers to turn to non-chocolate treats.

A family shops for Halloween candy at the Walmart Supercenter in Austin, Texas, on October 16, 2024. Halloween candy prices are also rising this year, with chocolate prices rising by 7.5%, partly due to a cocoa bean shortage. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/Getty Images)

U.S. candy companies are stocking store shelves with fewer Halloween chocolates and instead doubling down on stocks of cheaper gummies and licorices, such as Mondelez’s Sour Patch Kids and Hershey’s Twizzlers ghosts, according to market research firm Circana.

“Chocolate candy, there just aren’t that many products on the shelf per retailer,” said Dan Sadler, director of customer insights for Circana, which focuses on confectionery. “We are seeing double-digit increases in non-chocolate products.”

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Cocoa prices are up 88% from a year ago, after reaching a record high following a double whammy in the spring, according to Trending Economics data. extreme weather and disease-ravaged cocoa plants in the top-producing West African region signaled that supply shortages could be prolonged.

A global shortage of raw cocoa beans caused by low crop yields in West Africa caused the price of cocoa to rise last year. (Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Nidhi Jain, commodities expert at purchasing intelligence firm The Smart Cube, said: FOX Business The reason for this dramatic increase is concerns about limited cocoa supplies, especially in Ivory Coast and Ghana, which produce approximately 60% of the world’s cocoa.

CouponFollow’s Clay Cary told FOX Business that chocolate fudge has always been more expensive than its non-chocolate counterparts, but this year the company’s data found that chocolate fudge is an average of 62% more expensive than other candies.

“While it is common for chocolates to be more expensive, the recent increase in costs has further increased this difference compared to other desserts not made from chocolate,” Cary said. “Anyone looking to buy chocolate for Halloween should prepare themselves because high cocoa costs aren’t going away anytime soon.”

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In other bad news for sugar lovers, Jain said sugar prices are expected to rise for the rest of 2024 due to supply disruptions and seasonal demand growth in major producing countries such as Brazil and India.

Prices for sugary non-chocolate desserts have also increased by double digits this year, according to Circana, despite being cheaper than chocolate.

Trick-or-treaters can expect to see fewer chocolate treats this Halloween after high chocolate prices led to a push toward non-chocolate candies. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images/Getty Images)

Just not less chocolate candy for Halloween in stores, but it is also more expensive. Sadler said seasonal chocolate candy prices are up about 7.5% compared to last year.

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But high prices didn’t stop consumers from stocking up on trick-or-treaters this year. S&P Global expects spending on Halloween candy to rise 3.5% to a record $4.1 billion in 2024.

Reuters contributed to this report.