More gummy bears, less chocolate: Halloween trend has been going for years

Ghouls, goblins … and gummy bears.

Trick-or-treaters may find more fruity candy than chocolate among their Halloween handouts this year. That should be fine with younger consumers, who have been gravitating for years toward non-chocolate candies like gummies, freeze-dried treats and other sweets that come in a variety of shapes, colors and flavors.

Last year, 52 percent of the total volume of Halloween candy sold in the United States was made of chocolate, according to Dan Sadler, a principal for client insights at the market research company Circana. But in the 12 weeks ending Oct. 5, chocolate accounted for 44 percent of the Halloween candy sold in the country.

Prices may be part of it. Global cocoa prices more than quadrupled between January 2023 and January 2025 due to poor harvests