Key takeaways

• Top chocolate companies Hershey and Mondelez have raised prices in 2025, citing cocoa costs

• Brands look to protein and ingredient swaps to reimagine chocolate in Americans’ diets

• Non-chocolate sales in the U.S. now account for a third of candy spending

Chocolate inflation has come for both small bites and bigger bars. Candy costs overall have risen more than 8% over the past year.

With Halloween only a couple of weeks away, cocoa prices may be haunting store aisles and shoppers’ wallets this year. Nearly three in five Americans say the rising cost of chocolate is changing how much they spend on Halloween sweets, according to new Empower research.

Cocoa beans are an essential ingredient in chocolate, typically enhanced with sugar and other flavors.¹ The price of cocoa has risen more than double since the start of 2024, hitting a decades-long high of $12,500 per metric ton last year.²

The market for chocolate in North America is expected to hit $57.4 billion in 2030.³ Around 75% of the global supply of cocoa comes from West Africa, which has recently seen crop diseases and unfavorable weather take a toll.⁴ Chocolate costs right now look to be a mixed bag: In early October, cocoa futures dropped to their lowest in 11 months, though consumer prices have remained elevated.⁵

Chocolate prices across the board

Over a third of people (35%) plan to give candy to trick-or-treaters this year, and those handouts are coming at a higher cost. A typical bag of smaller “fun-size” chocolates will be $5 pricier in 2025 compared to last year, and a box of 48 full-size bars is now around $50 – a $10 year-over-year price hike.⁶ So switching sizes doesn’t look like a cost-cutting trick this year, either.

Food categories that can commonly include chocolate have also seen price increases compared to last year, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index data from August (the most recent data available):⁷

• Cookies: +3.5%

• Fresh cakes and cupcakes: +2.1%

• Candy and chewing gum: +8.1%

• Food from vending machines and mobile vendors: +4.8%

The agency also tracks the average price of one notable chocolate treat: The cost of one pound of chocolate chip cookies had a notable dip this past February, dropping to $4.66, though for the four most recent months of data, the price has topped $5 ($5.12 as of August). In comparison, pre-pandemic pricing was $3.56 in February 2020.⁸

Chocolate swaps and product drops

Consumers have been pulling back from snacks over the past several years, and companies have pivoted to adjust to changing tastes and shopping preferences.

Mondelez — maker of Oreos and Cadbury — called out cocoa cost inflation back in January and raised prices as a result.⁹ In its most recent earnings call, the company reported a Q2 profit of $641 million, a jump over last year’s $601 million, though sales in North America dipped by 3.5%.¹⁰

Fellow snack maker Hershey sees around two-thirds of its sales from chocolate candy. With higher cocoa costs, Hershey raised prices around 10-20% in July.¹¹

Hershey has also been diversifying its chocolate snack mix by leaning into its nutrition bar brand One, which it acquired in 2019 for $397 million.¹² Also in July, its double-chocolate protein bar hit the market, layered with chocolate chips and Hershey cocoa — packing in 18 grams of protein.¹³

For snackers who want the sweetness of chocolate, flavored protein foods could be a realistic swap with an extra boost. Empower research found that 72% of people would be willing to pay more for added protein or a protein-enhanced version when compared to the regular version of a product.

Read more: Protein is the new food powerhouse

The industry is also banking on some strength in numbers, as the two chocolate giants made a rare collaboration. Hershey brought its Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups together with Mondelez’s Oreos to launch mashup products as permanent fixtures: an Oreo cookie with Reese’s peanut butter filling sandwiched in the middle, and a Reese’s Oreo cup (swapping the usual chocolate on top for cookies-and-cream).¹⁴

The teamwork could bolster the already-strong position of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, which rank as America’s favorite Halloween candy, based on Instacart sales in 2024.¹⁵

Hershey has also leaned into non-Halloween seasonal treats — with surprising timing. Its pumpkin-spice latte chocolate nuggets hit store shelves back in July, while Starbucks’ signature drink didn’t return until late August.¹⁶

Read more: Pumpkin $pice and everything nice

Being able to keep chocolate spending a year-round splurge could help brands align with consumers. Empower findings reveal that 22% of people buy Halloween candy before October to spread out the cost.

Sweetening the pot

As cocoa prices appear to cool, there’s still room for chocolate companies to mix up their product lines. According to the National Confectioners Association, U.S. revenue of non-chocolate candy has been steadily growing since 2020, generating $12.9 billion over the past year and now representing a third of confectionery sales.¹⁷

In July, Mars — the maker of M&M’s and Skittles — announced a $2 billion investment in its U.S. operations to widen its manufacturing capabilities.¹⁸ The move follows on the candymaker’s acquisition of Kellanova last year to expand its snack offerings.

With candy continuing to hit store shelves, consumers have the freedom to indulge. More than a little treat, chocolate splurges can make life sweeter: More than four in five Americans (61%) believe that being rich is more than dollars and cents.