Candy companies shift to cheaper gummies, licorice due to high cocoa costs
Hershey39;s new nonchocolate products include Jolly Rancher Ropes and ShaqaLicious gummies
Halloween candy prices rise, with chocolate up 7.5 and nonchocolate up double digits
Chocolate prices outpacing broader food inflation

NEW YORK, Oct 8 Reuters Trickortreaters hoping to collect handfuls of chocolate candy this Halloween might be facing a bit of a letdown.

U.S. confectionery companies are stocking store shelves with fewer Halloween chocolates and doubling down instead on cheaper gummies and licorice such as Mondelez39;s Sour Patch Kids and Hershey39;s Twizzlers ghosts, according to market research firm Circana.

Prices on sugary nonchocolate sweets though still cheaper than chocolate are also up double digits, according to Circana.

The shift to gummies, licorice and flavored crèmes comes as chocolate makers face shrinking margins and slowing sales. Consumers have been curbing their cravings for costly chocolate, and the candy companies have faced a doublewhammy on their own costs for the treat, first from supply chain snarls during the COVID pandemic and now from a cocoa bean shortage.

Chocolate candy, theres just not as many items per retailer on shelf, said Dan Sadler, principal of client insights at Circana, who focuses on confection. Were seeing doubledigit increases in nonchocolate items.

Candy companies took a similar approach for Easter, unveiling new products lighter on…