Shoppers look for tricks to save on Halloween treats as costs rise

How much could it cost to hand out candy for Halloween this year? CTV’s Alexnadra Holyk finds out.

The high cost of Halloween candy this year is turning sticker shock into a sticker scare.

According to the Agri-Food Analytics Lab’s 2025 Halloween Treat Cost Report, Canadians are spending 10 to 20 per cent more on treats this year.

“I think Halloween products are particularly prone to shrinkflation,” said Mike von Massow, a food economist at the University of Guelph.

“Products get smaller without the price going up,” he explained. “It’s a way of hiding price increases.”

Von Massow said smaller products may prompt people to give out more, making their annual purchase more expensive.

Other factors contributing to rising costs include increases in the prices of cocoa and sugar.

“Anything that has chocolate in it is getting more expensive,” von Massow explained.

He said climate change is creating issues for cacao crops, which are yielding less fruit, while sugar prices soared after Canada implemented retaliatory tariffs on sugar and confectionary goods against the U.S.

Despite the retaliatory tariffs being dropped, von Massow said in-store prices are still going steady.

“We might not see the price relief from the removal of those tariffs until after Halloween this year,” he said.

To save money, von Massow recommended shifting away from chocolates and candy.

“Potato chips are actually cheaper than they were a year ago,” he said. “I expect some Halloween bags will have more potato chips in them than they do in the average year.”

But for people hoping to stick to sweets, von Massow said waiting until the last minute may be worth it.

“I think watching for those specials as we get closer to Halloween, if demand is down, we might see them,” he said.