Trick-or-treaters may find more fruity candy than chocolate among their Halloween handouts this year. Younger consumers have also been gravitating toward non-chocolate candies like gummies, drawn by their bright colors and innovative flavors.. Global cocoa prices more than quadrupled between January 2023 and January 2025 due to poor harvests in West Africa, where 70% of cocoa is produced. Chocolate candy is lot more expensive as a result. In the 12 weeks ending Oct. 5, chocolate Halloween candy cost an average of $8.02 per pound in the U.S. while non-chocolate candy cost an average of $5.77 per pound, according to the market research company Circana. Younger consumers have also been gravitating toward non-chocolate candies like gummies, drawn by their bright colors and innovative flavors.
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