The Halloween candy wars have a sweet new champ.
For the first time in years gummy candies are outselling chocolate in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Chocolate accounts for just 44% of U.S. sales through Oct. 5 this year, according to the AP, down from 52% last year.
Rising cocoa prices and a poor harvest are partly to blame. Global cocoa prices have quadrupled since January 2023, led by a weak harvest in West Africa, where 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown. Chocolate candies are about $2.50 more per pound than gummies, market research firm Circana tells the AP.
But candy sales of all flavors might take a hit this Halloween, depending on who you ask. Wallet Hub predicts Americans will spend $3.9 billion on candy this year – roughly $2.5 billion less than last year’s spend, as reported by the National Confectioners Association.
More spooky season predictions from Wallet Hub and the AP:
- $13.1 billion… total projected Halloween spending (Wallet Hub)
- $4.1 billion… projected spending on Halloween costumes (Wallet Hub)
- $10,710… price for a metric ton of cocoa in January 2025, a new record (AP)
- 30 million… M&Ms made daily at the Mars Inc. plant in Topeka, Kansas (AP)
- 51%… of Americans celebrate Halloween (Wallet Hub)
- 66%… of Americans hand out Halloween candy (Wallet Hub)
- Two in three… Americans would consider living in a haunted house (Wallet Hub)