Hershey’s Warns of Halloween Candy Shortage This Year
The company had to choose between everyday and holiday versions of its iconic candies.
Oliver Kramm / EyeEm/Getty Images
Warning to candy lovers: This Halloween, your “Boo!” may turn into a “Boo-hoo!” Hershey’s has disclosed that it won’t be able to make enough chocolate to satisfy trick-or-treaters.
Even though the chocolate maker has been working since April to amass a stock of Hershey’s Bars, Kisses, KitKats, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzlers and York Peppermint Patties to prepare for the anticipated annual October-holiday shopping surge, Hershey’s CEO Michele Buck warned investors during a quarterly results call last week that the company “will not be able to fully meet consumer demand" for Halloween candy, CNN reports.
The issue is that consumers are demanding more regular candies and chocolate. Hershey’s says it saw double-digit sales growth for the most recent quarter, compared to last year. (It’s been a tough couple of years. Can you blame us for reaching for the sweets?!)
At the same time, demand for Halloween-themed treats has also increased — even as supply chain issues (with dairy and other key ingredients) have hindered production. Plus, because Hershey produces its regular and seasonal products on the same manufacturing lines, it has had to choose whether to use them to ramp up production of its usual products or Halloween and other holiday candies in an attempt to keep up with demand.
“We had a strategy of prioritizing everyday on-shelf availability,” Buck said, according to CNN. “That was a choice that we needed to make … It was a tough decision.”
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