Halloween Candy Prices Soar Year Over Year

Americans thought 2022 delivered a punch to the gut when picking up bags of candy to bless the trick-or-treaters that stopped by to charm them, but 2023 has been a serious contender over last year. Prices on Halloween candy are an average of 13% higher this October than they were at the same time last year.

Datasembly tracks retail prices across the industry, and its Grocery Price Index has compiled data from more than 150,000 stores spanning over 200 retail outlets in the U.S. The general consensus? Candy is darn costly!

The tracker reports a 19.9% increase in the price of products in the “Candy and Gum” category over the course of the past year. As such, an extra 12.8% tacked on this spooky season makes for a seriously scary time at the checkout counter.

To add insult to injury, those figures still come in on top of the 13.1% price hike that took place across the same category from October of 2021 to October of 2022. At the time, that was the highest increase in recorded history.

It appears Americans are feeling the pain of the price of candy bars on their pocketbooks.

Small business owner Jessica Weathers shared her thoughts from Illinois noting, “It doesn’t make sense to me to spend $100 on candy.” Jessica’s statement echoes how Americans all over the country are feeling as they prepare to apologize for their candy shortages or keep their lights off on Halloween night.

Sure, there are worse things skipping out on sugar addiction, but Halloween is a time of community and celebration for many — and it’s a tradition across many families that delights their children.

Business writer Dee-Ann Curbin claims, “Cocoa prices are trading at 44-year highs after heavy rains in West Africa caused limited production in the season that began last fall. Now, El Nino conditions are making the region drier and are likely to linger well into the spring.”

Yes, America, she’s blaming the weather for the rise in price of Skittles and Kit-Kats. But she’s not entirely off the mark.

Kelly Goughary, an agricultural research analyst, backed her up sharing that the Ivory Coast normally produces 40% of the global cocoa supply, but it is currently enduring one of the worst droughts to hit the nation in two decades.

Sugar prices have reached a 12-year high, according to Goughary, who said India has banned sugar exports for the first time in seven years, following monsoon rains that damaged their harvest.

Of course, a #climatechange hashtag isn’t going to tamp down claims that the Biden administration is responsible for diminishing the joy children will feel on Halloween night.

With his approval rating dropping, parents and neighbors who enjoy the slideshow of decorated tots shuffling around the sidewalks every October are eager to find his replacement next November. Will they take the price of Halloween candy into account when they step into the voting box?

Back in 2021, we could pick up a 250-piece variety bag of big brand candies at Aldi for $19.54, but this year they’ll cost us $24.98. Will we see this price even out before next Halloween? It’s not looking promising.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR