CHICAGO (NewsNation) — It’s not a trick or a treat: Candy prices are up nearly 13% since last Halloween, a new study found.
Data calculated by Datasembly’s Grocery Price Index revealed that over the last 12 months, the Candy and Gum category continues to increase at an exponential rate — nearly 7% higher than the rate at which the cost of groceries soared.
For the most accurate read on figures, the company collects information from over 150,000 stores representing more than 200 retail banners in more than 30,000 ZIP codes across the U.S., the report said.
The national average price for candy and gum showed an increase of 12.8%, over-indexing the entire grocery category at 6.7%.
“The price of candy has gotten to be outrageous,” said Jessica Weathers, a small business owner in Shiloh, Illinois. “It doesn’t make sense to me to spend $100 on candy.”
“High inflation drove a national increase of 19.9% last year across the Candy and Gum category, so an additional 12.8% increase from October 2022 through October 7, 2023, makes for more of a trick than a treat for consumers,” the Datasembly report said.
But while most Americans might be seeing high sticker prices for their favorite treats, states like Alaska, Michigan and Ohio are experiencing lower cost increases of 7.1%, 7.5% and 8.1% respectively, according to the index.
Americans looking to buy candy for trick-or-treaters on the East Coast — specifically in Vermont, Maine and Pennsylvania — will see the higher end of the spectrum, with price increases of 14.7%, 14.2% and 14.1%, respectively, the report said.
Global sugar prices are at 12-year highs, Kelly Goughary, a senior research analyst with Gro Intelligence, an agricultural analytics firm, said. India, the world’s second-largest sugar producer after Brazil, recently banned sugar exports for the first time in seven years after monsoon rains hurt the upcoming harvest.
Thailand’s output is also down.
Those costs, combined with increases for labor, packaging and ingredients like peanuts, are pushing up prices for all kinds of candy.
Discount grocer Aldi is advertising a 250-piece variety pack of Mars Inc. chocolate bars — including Milky Way, Twix and Snickers — for $24.98. Two years ago, the same package was advertised at $19.54.
Hershey Co. — which has raised its prices by 7% or more in each of the last seven quarters —acknowledged this week that higher prices are taking a toll on demand. Hershey’s North American confectionary sales volumes fell 1% in the July-September period.
“We know that value and affordability continue to be top-of-the-line for consumers as budgets are stretched,” Hershey’s President and CEO Michele Buck said Thursday on a conference call with investors.
Buck said Hershey is trying to meet consumers’ needs with offerings in value stores and pack sizes at various price points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.