Chocolate crunch: Hershey says he won’t be able to meet Halloween demand this year

This Halloween may bring more tricks than rewards, with candy maker Hershey’s warning On Thursday, it will not be able to meet consumer demand for the October 31 holiday.

CEO Michael Buck warned of a potential shortfall in the company’s second-quarter earnings call, noting that while seasonal consumer demand remains high, “we will not be able to fully meet consumer demand due to capacity constraints.”

This means that Halloween favorites like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat, Mr. Godbar, and Almond Joy may not be as plentiful this Halloween as in previous years.

Americans have turned to sugary sweets in the pandemic, driving candy and chocolate sales to a record $36.9 billion in 2021. according to National Confectioners Association. Buck noted that as consumer demand rose, Hershey’s faced a dilemma, because their Halloween candy is made on the same equipment as their regular stock.

“[W]Buck on the conference call referred to the strategy for prioritizing daily shelf availability.

Of course, people who want to serve Halloween candy this October will have other options in the candy aisle, with competitors like Mars (the maker of M&Ms and other sweets) and Ferraro (Butterfinger and Crunch Bars) likely stepping in to fill the candy. Empty.

Buck added that it’s not only capacity constraints that poses a challenge to Hershey, supply chain issues remain an issue as well.

“I think we generally continue to see struggles across the supply chain,” she said. “[W]We are now starting to see bigger concerns regarding the scarcity of components that need to tap into different suppliers at higher cost and prices in order to secure production.”