Smaller candies, higher cost: Edmontonians facing scary prices on Halloween treats

For those giving out candy and chocolates to trick or treaters this Halloween, the most frightening thing may just be the cost of sweets at the grocery store.

It’s yet another case of paying more for less this year, says food distribution and policy expert Sylvain Charlebois.

“As far as prices go, we don’t see a whole lot of a difference,” said Charlebois, the senior director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. “It’s probably within five per cent compared to last year. But you’re getting way less. So in actuality, it’s way more than five per cent.”

Cocoa – the vital building block of chocolate – has reached a 44-year high, mostly due to production issues in Western Africa. Charlebois anticipates cocoa futures will continue to influence the price of chocolate in the months to come.

Other impacts on the price is the surge in sugar prices, reaching their highest levels since 2011, and an ongoing labour dispute at a Vancouver-based sugar plant.

Charlebois says the average household spends anywhere from $25 to $40 on Halloween candy each year. But with “shrinkflation,” it won’t stretch as far as it once did.

“Shrinkflation is really noticeable this year,” he said. “Given the nature of the holiday, it comes once a year, companies now have the luxury to sell you an illusion that things are the same over time.

“It’s quite subtle, and you won’t notice it until you get home and you unpack your box of 100 candies or something like that. You will find smaller candies, and if you have, say, M&Ms in a pack, you will have fewer M&Ms.”

‘You get less for what you’re buying’

The smaller portions and increased prices have not gone unnoticed by Edmonton shoppers.

“Full-size chocolate bars are definitely much smaller than they used to be,” one person told CityNews. “Yes, I do notice that in general you get less for what you’re buying, but I keep an eye on the price.”

“Oh for sure, unless you get it on sale, you’re paying a lot more,” said another.

“Oh yeah, it’s expensive,” added a third. “But it’s only for one day, right, so it doesn’t matter. And it’s for the kids, so the price doesn’t matter.”