Families in Colorado Springs preparing to hand out Halloween candy this year are facing a notably steeper bill than they did twelve months ago. A joint analysis by the Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation, first provided to Scripps News, found that candy prices have risen an average of 15 percent compared to last year — a rate four times that of overall inflation. The researchers drew their figures from NielsenIQ consumer data covering one-week windows ending in early October of both 2025 and 2026.
Individual product price changes illustrate the magnitude of the increases. A Mondelēz International sour gummy variety pack that retailed at roughly $3.02 last fall now averages $4.20 — a 39 percent increase — while a Hershey seasonal peanut butter cup package has moved from its prior-year price to an average of $8.23, reflecting a 23 percent rise. For households stocking up to serve high-traffic trick-or-treat blocks, those per-item jumps compound quickly.
Several converging pressures are behind the overall increase. Tariffs on foreign metals imposed by President Trump have driven up aluminum costs, and war-related disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed up prices for petroleum-derived materials such as plastic used in packaging. On top of that, transportation expenses have surged across virtually all shipped goods after diesel fuel hit a record high, meaning nearly every item that arrives on a store shelf carries that added cost burden.
What distinguishes the candy situation from broader grocery inflation, however, is that the basic ingredients used to make candy have actually become less expensive. Unlike many other food categories where input costs remain elevated, raw materials for candy production fell this year — cocoa retreated sharply from its 2024 peak while wholesale sugar and corn syrup prices declined by 10 percent and 4 percent, respectively. That divergence between cheaper inputs and rising retail prices led the report to allege potential "corporate profiteering," with one author noting that manufacturers are "keeping prices high to pad their profit margins" even as their underlying costs ease.
The analysis singled out two major manufacturers by name. Both Hershey and Mondelēz received multi-million dollar tariff refunds after the Supreme Court limited the president's emergency tariff powers — $9 million and $6 million respectively — yet continued raising prices; Hershey's second-quarter 2026 gross profit margin climbed 30 percent year over year, while Mondelēz's rose 33 percent. A Hershey spokesperson countered that the company "has faced significant increases across ingredients, packaging, manufacturing and transportation" and that it did not pass along the full weight of those costs, adding that more than three-quarters of its U.S. confection portfolio carries a price below $4. Mondelēz did not respond to the inquiry.
The financial pressure is already pushing some consumers toward borrowing. A LendingTree study found that one in four Americans anticipated going into debt to pay for Halloween this year, a share that climbed to 40 percent among parents of children under 18. Experts discouraged that strategy, with one economist warning that people are already stretching credit to make ends meet and that reaching credit limits could trigger "a real crunch situation." For households trying to hold down spending, researchers recommended comparing prices across multiple retailers in advance and taking advantage of bulk purchasing at warehouse stores.
Whether the candy industry responds to the report's profiteering allegations — or whether retail prices ease before October 31 — remains an open question heading into the final weeks before Halloween.