Your Fun-Size Bag Costs 18% More Than Two Years Ago. Cocoa Got Cheaper. The Candy Didn't

Tomorrow's Halloween, so let's talk about the bowl by your door. Candy and gum prices are up 7.7% in one year and more than 18% in two, NPR reports from federal data. That's worse than food inflation overall.

The excuse used to be cocoa. Bad weather in West Africa wrecked harvests and sent prices flying. But cocoa's come down since, with a bean surplus earlier this year. So why is your Kit Kat still expensive? A Wells Fargo agri-food analyst told NPR the chocolate on shelves now was made with cocoa bought in 2025, at last year's high prices, and that consumer chocolate prices are "sticky." Add sugar, fuel and tariffs on top.

Then there's the part that'll make you check the bag weight. Circana data shows chocolate candy sales have been rising for years while shoppers are actually buying less of it. Paying more, getting less. Candy makers are pushing gummies, sours and white-creme stuff that doesn't need pricey chocolate.

Dez's take: none of this is stopping anybody. The National Retail Federation expects a record $13.5 billion on Halloween, $115 a person. We will complain about the price and buy the big bag anyway. That's the most American thing about this holiday.

What we still don't know: when, or if, those sticky prices actually come back down.