Spooky season started a little early this year for Halloween shoppers looking to stock up before Friday. “The treats are smaller, there’s fewer in a bag, and they’re more expensive,” one shopper named Lonnie told CTV News Wednesday. Lonny isn’t the only one noticing the differences this year. Dalhousie’s annual Halloween Treat Cost Report says Canadian households are spending 10 to 20 per cent more on Halloween candy this year. Keith Willoughby, the Dean of Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan, says a few economic forces are pushing input costs up for manufacturers, and those are being passed down to consumers. Roughly 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa. That region has been hit particularly hard with weather events affecting crops. First, it was heavy rains in 2023 and then drought in 2024. Willoughby says the cocoa industry is facing its largest supply deficit in almost 60 years. That has spiked the price of chocolate across much of the world. Demand is also unusually high this year due to Halloween falling on a Friday. With kids not having to worry about school the next day, many households are stocking up with the expectation of more trick or treaters this year. “The combination now of some global cocoa production that’s been reduced, along with demand that’s going up, is creating a real price crunch right now,” Willoughby said. In addition to general inflation and other costs raising the price of goods over the last few years, companies have counteracted price surges by shrinking packaging and offering less. “Shrinkflation is weaving a thread through all of these conversations now. You’ve got a situation, because of smaller quantities, people feel like they’re getting less bang for their buck,” Willoughby said. That sentiment was apparent for shoppers getting candy on Wednesday, but the fear of running out or not having it helps justify the price. “It’s a little expensive, but I mean, it’s once a year,” one shopper said. “Candy is candy, so I’m going to buy it,” another shopper said. Willoughby doesn’t see companies lowering prices if cocoa crops improve in the short term, and that could lead to changing consumer behaviour which goes beyond handing out less candy. “Will this be the launch point now for consumers to pivot into other opportunities and other treats that they might provide at Halloween?” Willoughby said. With consumers largely accepting shrinkflation following the pandemic, Willoughby warns chocolate is a good example of a trend that could become commonplace and shift the yearly Halloween market. “I think this is part of the new reality for consumers that may become the new normal,” he said.
