Cocoa price surge helps sour Halloween chocolate sales

Halloween was a test for the chocolate industry, as high cocoa costs threaten to accelerate a consumer shift toward cheaperandtrendier sweets such as sour gummies.

- By ILENA PENG

HARIBO, best known for its gummy bears, says it's seeing higher demand in 2025.

(RICHARD DREW Associated Press)

For candy makers, Halloween remains crucial; the holiday made up nearly 18% of annual U.S. candy sales last year, second only to Christmas. But chocolate makers have been passing along costlier input prices to consumers, and that’s leaving an opening for rivals — which have already seen a shift toward nonchocolate treats — to grab more market share.

It’s the latest example of demand destruction as the chocolate industry is grappling with high prices amida precarious supply outlook. Although cocoa futures in New York have slumped about 50% from a record set in December, they're still historically elevated. Chocolate makers are hoping nostalgia during the Halloween season can offset the broader shift away from their products.

“Chocolate is chocolate,” said David Branch, a sector manager at Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute. “We’re seeing less sales away from holidays and more sales dur-

ing holidays. People are not buying it all the time, but when they want it, they want it.”