This could be candy corn's year.
You could argue that the waxy, tricolored sugary treat has its moment every Halloween. But not everyone considers that a good thing. Depending on whom you ask, candy corn is either a delightful seasonal indulgence or what trick-or-treating disappointment tastes like.
But it's relatively cheap, and that matters in this Halloween season of frighteningly high prices — on candy and so many other everyday expenses eating into Americans' budgets.
Candy and chewing gum prices are up 7.7 percent from a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' September inflation report. That's across all kinds of candy, not just chocolate.
Buying the candies that consistently rank high with trick-or-treaters — Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey's, Snickers and the like — may require some sacrifices elsewhere in the household budget.
"The biggest impact is on chocolate-based products, so financially sensitive shoppers can lean towards sugar-based candies, like gummy bears and candy corn," John Lash, group vice president of product strategy at supply chain platform e2open, told ConsumerAffairs.
The trouble with chocolate prices started when the pandemic threw supply chains into disarray and left manufacturers guessing how much candy people would buy. They delayed orders, and cocoa beans piled up at ports and warehouses in West Africa.
Then, just as demand recovered, extreme weather and crop diseases devastated cocoa harvests in Ivory Coast and Ghana, two of the world's largest cocoa producers. The resulting shortages sent prices soaring.
Global cocoa prices more than quadrupled between January 2023 and January 2025, according to International Monetary Fund data. Cocoa import prices jumped sharply in April 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In a report last month, the agency said U.S. consumer prices for candy and chewing gum rose 32 percent from December 2019 through November 2024.
Although cocoa prices have since fallen considerably, consumers aren't seeing much relief at the checkout counter, as the September inflation report shows.
A FinanceBuzz analysis of prices at major retailers estimated that the cost of 100 pieces of assorted trick-or-treat candy has increased 71 percent since 2021, from $9.91 that year to $16.96 in 2026.
Retail experts expect Americans to spend $4.1 billion on Halloween candy this year. Some may be rethinking what they're handing out, while others say higher prices are simply the cost of making Halloween memorable for neighborhood kids.
"I give out full-size bars and toys every year. I've been doing it for over a decade, and my house is popular," a woman said in a Reddit discussion that featured a photo of candy on a store shelf with the caption, "Porch light will be off this year."
She typically buys about 120 candy bars, purchasing four 30-count boxes directly from Hershey. For the last three years, she paid $32 per box, or $128 altogether. This year, the price jumped to $44 a box, pushing her Halloween candy bill to $176.
That's an extra $48, enough to buy about 11 gallons of gasoline at the current national average of roughly $4.33 a gallon.
She found a cheaper option at a warehouse club, but that didn't solve her entire Halloween budget conundrum.
"What's worse is the toys. I usually give a light-up toy each year, also bought in bulk. With Trump's tariffs, everything has doubled in price. I try to keep my annual budget to $300," she said.
"It's not clear what we will be able to do for the kids this year with that amount, but I'll do my best. Inflation has really taken a big toll on my family's holiday celebrations for the last few years."
Another user, who usually spends about $1,000 a year on Halloween animatronics, decorations and candy, is "dropping that back to no more than a hundred this year."
"Hopefully we'll be able to get more than three bags of candy with that," the person said.
Others refuse to let higher prices spoil the fun.
"It's one day a year," someone else said. "We get around 200 kids and give out full-size candy bars. Start buying a box a couple of months beforehand, and it's not that expensive."
Hard times call for a different approach to Halloween trick-or-treating, according to one person in a discussion on Reddit.
"Last Halloween was around the time of the long government shutdown, and I live in an area with a lot of federal workers who were missing paychecks, so I ended up putting out a lot of bigger treats, like cereal bars, Rice Krispie treats, fruit snacks, little snack-sized chips, cookies, crackers, etc.," the user said, adding:
"I figured anything a person could pack in a lunch would be good to hand out. I'll probably do the same thing this year. Kids seemed really excited about the Rice Krispie treats. Those were the first things that got wiped out."
"If all else fails, be the house that gives out potatoes," another person said.
The humble spud — an ordinary, unwrapped, straight-from-the-produce-aisle potato — may be the strangest thing to show up in trick-or-treat buckets this year. And some children are choosing it over chocolatey Halloween favorites.
"My daughter got a potato last year and could not stop talking about it," someone else commented in the Reddit thread. "I'm thinking of giving out potatoes, carrots, radishes, etc., with the candy this year."
The joke has been making the rounds for years, but it has found a surprisingly enthusiastic audience. Pat Foy of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, started handing out baking potatoes about two decades ago, eventually becoming known as the Potato Man.
Not even the pandemic stopped him. He built a PVC pipe chute to send potatoes to children from a safe distance. Last Halloween, Foy went through 170 pounds of potatoes in just 80 minutes.
And potatoes aren't the only unlikely treats finding their way into Halloween buckets.
"I had potatoes as an option the last two years, and the kids go absolutely nuts for them! Also, Ramen!" another Reddit user said.
The person handed out 20 pounds of potatoes and five cases of ramen noodles in addition to the usual candy last year, and plans to double the ramen and increase the potato supply to 50 pounds this Halloween.
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