Sorry, Trick-or-Treaters: Hershey Just Announced a Potential Halloween Candy Shortage

Halloween might be months away, but we're already starting to think about preparing for and celebrating this spooky holiday—after all, it's Martha's favorite. Unfortunately, a few All Hallows' Eve staples might be missing from your treat bags this year: The Hershey company has announced that, due to supply and distribution issues, some of your favorite candy might be difficult to find on shelves when Halloween draws near, reports Reuters.

Hershey produces a myriad of trick-or-treater favorites, including Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kats, Mr. Goodbars, Almond Joys, and classic Hershey chocolate bars. Recently, however, the company has had trouble meeting consumer demand due to global supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic; they are also grappling with ingredient shortages.

These shortages have not yet impacted shoppers: Hershey CEO Michele Buck explained during a second-quarter earnings meeting that we can expect to see our go-to sweets on store shelves in the immediate future—stock will, however, become scarcer closer to Halloween. "[We] have a strategy of prioritizing everyday on-shelf availability," she said. "It was a tough decision to balance that with the seasons, but we thought that was really important."

Despite limited supplies, increased consumer demand has lead to spikes in candy sales (the National Confectioners Association reported that in 2021, the candy and chocolate industries saw a record of $36.9 billion in revenue), and the Hershey team still expects to surpass last year's earnings. They will, however, be raising their prices to do so—so expect your favorite Halloween candy to cost a bit more (if you can find it!). "We continue to see struggles across the supply chain," Buck said. "[We're] now starting to see bigger concerns relative to scarcity of ingredients [and] needing to leverage different suppliers at higher cost and price points in order to secure production."