Halloween in America has always been a time of sweet excess, with children and adults alike reveling in bowls brimming with candy. But this year, the landscape of trick-or-treating is shifting in ways that reflect not only the nation’s collective sweet tooth but also the economic pressures and changing tastes of 2025. As October 31 approaches, shoppers are finding that the cost of filling those plastic pumpkins and pillowcases has never been higher, while the contents themselves are evolving in surprising ways.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of chewing gum and candy has risen a whopping 38% since February 2020. The culprit behind these spooky price hikes? The cost of cocoa—the main ingredient in chocolate—has nearly doubled since early 2024, hitting historic records again and again. As NPR reports, this surge is largely due to three consecutive years of poor cocoa harvests in West Africa, the region responsible for the vast majority of the world’s cocoa beans. Farmers there have battled extreme weather, shifting climate patterns, and diseases afflicting aging trees, creating a perfect storm that sent cocoa prices skyward.
Major chocolate brands, including Nestlé, Lindt, Hershey, and Mars, have all raised their prices in 2025 in response. But these companies aren’t just passing costs on to consumers—they’re also getting crafty with their recipes. David Branch, who tracks the cocoa market at Wells Fargo’s Agri-Food Institute, told NPR, "We're seeing a lot more fillers going in. They're putting more nuts, less chocolate, keeping the price the same, just reducing the amount of cocoa cost." This means that while the price tags might not always reflect the full brunt of inflation, the chocolate bars themselves are shrinking or contain less actual chocolate—a phenomenon shoppers have come to know as shrinkflation.
Some brands are even reimagining their products for the season. Reese’s, for example, has released a Halloween-themed peanut butter cup called "White Ghost" that’s dipped in white creme instead of chocolate. KitKat’s Halloween lineup features flavors like cinnamony "Ghost Toast" and marshmallowy green-colored "Witch’s Brew," both notably light on cocoa. It’s a clever workaround, but not everyone is thrilled with the changes.
Stephanie Espinosa, a resident of Babcock Ranch, Florida, is one such shopper who’s felt the pinch. "The bags for chocolate are definitely smaller now and there's less pieces," she observed, as quoted by NPR. Espinosa, whose town takes Halloween festivities seriously—think palm trees with glowing eyeballs and ghostly decorations everywhere—said shrinkflation has taken a "gnarly bite" out of her budget. She and her husband, decked out in pirate costumes, expect to greet hundreds of trick-or-treaters. With chocolate prices so high, Espinosa has begrudgingly switched to more affordable options like Tootsie Rolls and other non-chocolate candies.
This shift isn’t unique to Espinosa. Sales of non-chocolate candy—think gummies, sours, and fruity chews—have been rising much faster than those of chocolate in recent years. Retail data firm Circana notes that while people are still spending more dollars on chocolate treats, they’re buying fewer of them. It’s a trend reflected in Halloween shopping bags across the country: fewer chocolate bars, more gummies and tangy sweets.
Flavor maximalism is also having a moment. According to The New York Times, extreme sour flavors and new textures like freeze-dried candy are all the rage this Halloween. SweeTarts and Lemonheads have both introduced freeze-dried versions, and Skittles launched a freeze-dried variety last year. Ferrara Candy Company, which makes Nerds Gummy Clusters and Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers, has pushed its Nerds line into new territory with chewy, goo-filled gummy balls coated in crunchy Nerd pieces. Jenny Zegler, director of food and drink at market research firm Mintel, suggested that young people crave these "antidotes to increasingly virtual, repetitive and isolated daily lives." Her colleague, Kelsey Girard, added, "You’re always swiping to the next video or scrolling on your phone, so you need a flavor or a texture that’s going to stop you in your tracks."
Amid these changes, classic favorites still hold sway. Reese’s peanut butter cups remain the top Halloween candy choice in 2025, and gummies are especially popular among Generations Z and A. But new favorites are emerging, and the variety in trick-or-treat bags is greater than ever.
Of course, not all Halloween traditions are changing. Candy corn, that most polarizing of treats, remains a staple. Matt Escalante, a vice president of Brach’s (which will produce 22 million pounds of candy corn this year), told The New York Times that the annual debate over candy corn’s merits continues to play out on social media. This year, candy corn is also getting a boost from viral "candy salad" recipes and ASMR restocking videos.
Health-conscious options are making inroads, too. Scott Dicker of SPINS, a market research company, told The New York Times that while overall sales of gummies have increased less than 2% this year, sales of "better for you" versions—lower in sugar and free of artificial colors—are up 54%. Still, most shoppers aren’t looking for health in their Halloween treats, and these products remain a niche market for now.
Despite the sticker shock, Americans aren’t skimping on the holiday. The National Retail Federation forecasts that Halloween spending in 2025 might surpass the 2023 record, with an estimated $114.45 spent per shopper. In total, Halloween candy sales are expected to reach a record $3.9 billion. Even as chocolate prices have jumped almost 29% over the start of the 2024 Halloween season, and are up 78% compared to five years ago, Americans seem determined to let the ghoul times roll.
And if you’re looking for a little surprise in your treat bag, you’re in luck. This year, candies like Dots "ghost edition" (all tinted the same color so you don’t know what flavor you’ll get) and Jolly Rancher Trickies (where colors and flavors are mixed up) add an element of mystery to the mix. Even the thrill of possibly biting into an extra-spicy piece of Sour Punch Ghost Pepper Roulette is part of the fun. As Sally Lyons Wyatt of Circana put it, "We’re talking about a piece of candy, which in the big scheme of things is the sort of affordable luxury people are looking for."
So, whether you’re a chocolate lover bracing for higher prices, a fan of chewy and fruity alternatives, or someone who just wants to savor a little Halloween magic, 2025’s candy haul has something for everyone—even if it costs a bit more to fill that trick-or-treat bag.
