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With Halloween looming, the real fright is sticker shock: chocolate prices are up nearly 30% from last year and 78% over five years, pushing a 100-piece candy bag to $16.39 from $7.20 in 2020. Hershey and Mars raised prices about 22% and 12%, and Hershey warned of softer holiday sales as tariffs add $160 million to $170 million in costs. Cocoa futures that spiked above $12,000 a ton amid a 60-year supply deficit are still double pre-pandemic levels. Shoppers are shifting to cheaper sweets: chocolate's share fell to 44%, while non-chocolate sales climbed 8.3%.

Prepared by Christopher Adams and reviewed by editorial team.