Facts and fun to go with your Halloween treats

On one of the biggest candy-giving days of the year, as children — and adults — look forward to the treats they’ll find in Halloween bags, let’s take a moment to appreciate a perennial vending favorite treat.

Cocoa prices have increased, but that hasn’t dampened demand for chocolate. That’s the takeaway from the National Confectioners Association’s “2024 Getting to Know Chocolate Consumers” report. Seasonal U.S. chocolate sales ­— for occasions such as Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Easter ­— are estimated to grow 8% in 2024.  Yet since 2021, chocolate dollar-value growth has been driven by inflation, with units and volume down year-over-year, according to a National Confectioners Association survey.

Chocolate is the largest confectionery category, the National Confectioners Association says in the same report. For the 52 weeks preceding the survey data (compiled in August):

• Chocolate accounted for 56% of sales and a dollar value of $21.4 billion.
• Candy, including gummies, accounted for 32% of sales and a dollar value of $12.5 billion.
• Gum and mints accounted for 12% of sales  and a dollar value of $4.5 billion.

Inflation is credited with chocolate’s dollar-value growth since 2021, with units and volume down year-over-year. The National Confectioners Association expects chocolate sales to continue to grow, despite rising cacao and sugar prices, grow during the next five years, reaching $37.6 billion in sales across all outlets in the United States by 2029.

If you have not purchased your Halloween candy yet, know that you are not alone: October 31 is the busiest candy-shopping day of the season, contributing to an estimated $11.6 billion in Halloween spending this year, according to Statista. The National Retail Federation predicts Americans will spend $3.5 billion on Halloween candy alone.

Finally, some insights of a different kind, VMW's editor Linda Becker joined fellow Endeavor Business Media editors for a discussion about Halloween candy trends. Thanks to Andy Hanacek, senior editor of Food Processing, a title that covers food manufacturers, and Robert Schoenberger, editor-in-chief of IndustryWeek.