Given that candy manufacturer Hershey warned on Thursday that it won’t be able to fulfill customer demand for the October 31 holiday, this Halloween may bring more tricks than goodies.
On the company’s second-quarter results call, CEO Michele Buck issued a warning about the anticipated deficit, stating that despite the strong seasonal demand from customers, “we will not be able to completely satisfy consumer demand owing to capacity constraints.”
As a result, traditional Halloween treats including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat, Mr. Goodbar, and Almond Joy could not be as widely available this year as in past ones.
According to the National Confectioners Association, the epidemic has caused Americans to gravitate to sweet pleasures, driving sales of candy and chocolate to a record high of $36.9 billion in 2021. Hershey was in a pickle because of the increase in customer demand because its Halloween candy is produced using the same machinery as its normal stock, according to Buck.
“[W]e has a strategy of prioritizing every day on-shelf availability,” Buck noted on the conference call. “It was a tough decision to balance that with the seasons, but we thought that was really important.”
Naturally, anyone looking to give out Halloween candy in October will have other options in the confectionery section, with competitors like Mars (which produces M&Ms and other sweets) and Ferraro (which produces Butterfinger and Crunch bars) likely stepping in to fill the hole.
In addition to capacity limitations, Buck said that supply-chain problems continue to be a challenge for Hershey.
She stated, “I believe generally speaking we continue to see problems across the supply chain. We’re now beginning to notice more serious issues with ingredient shortages, necessitating the use of several suppliers at higher costs and price points to ensure supply.