Your Halloween Candy Will Be Smaller This Year (And Not Just Because of Inflation) Yes, "shrinkflation" is a factor, but it's not the whole story.

By Amanda Breen • Oct 24, 2022

Retailers began stocking Halloween candy in August, and ever since, shoppers have been confronted with an indisputable fact: Portion sizes aren't what they once were.

Part of the shrinkage is due to inflation, The Washington Post reported, but it's also the result of a years-long campaign to reduce the calories in Americans' treats.

Also known as "shrinkflation," the phenomenon of goods getting smaller (but not cheaper) isn't new, per CNBC, but it has surged in recent months, impacting the cost of everything from gas to food — and now, Halloween candy.

Food prices have risen 11.4% over the last year, the largest 12-month jump since 1979, but "shrinkflation" isn't the whole story.

Five years ago, major candy companies including Mars Chocolate North America LLC, Nestle USA, WM Wrigley Jr Co, and Lindt & Spruengli joined forces to reduce the calories in their products, Reuters reported, as part of a larger effort to combat the U.S.'s significant rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Today, 85% of chocolate and candy sold comes in packaging that holds 200 calories or fewer per pack, according to The National Confectioners Association.

Commerce data platform Klover, which gathers spending and pricing data using receipts from 4 million users, revealed that a king-size pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups cost 14% more in 2022, and a regular 1.55-ounce Hershey's milk chocolate bar cost 15% more, per The Post.

Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.