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Halloween is fast approaching, which means shoppers will be jockeying for 12-foot Home Depot skeletons and ill-advised costumes. But there may be another shortage looming: Halloween candy.
According to Reuters, confectioner Hershey said that supply and distribution issues might limit their candy offerings this coming Halloween. Hershey, which produces Hershey’s chocolate bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzlers, and Kit Kat bars, among other tooth-threatening treats, is blaming pandemic-related supply chain disruptions as well as Russia’s war with Ukraine, which has cut off access to raw ingredients like cocoa.
In a conference call, Hershey CEO Michele Buck said that Halloween candy may get the short shrift so that their regular offerings will be available year-round. “We have a strategy of prioritizing everyday on-shelf availability,” Buck said. “It was a tough decision to balance that with the seasons, but we thought that was really important.”
To offset short supplies, the company is raising prices—and seeing profits rise. Sales were up 19 percent, to $2.37 billion, in the second quarter of 2022.
Hershey has weathered tumultuous times before. In 1912, founder Milton Hershey and his wife Kitty were planning a getaway when some business issues forced them to cancel. Their tickets were for the Titanic.