There was a time when grabbing a candy bar at the checkout was the very definition of a cheap treat.

Now, that same impulse purchase can feel surprisingly expensive – and the package may contain less candy than it used to.

From chocolate bars to bags of Halloween candy, America's shoppers have been noticing that their favorite sweets are costing more, while some products appear to be getting smaller.

And it turns out there is a lot more behind the price hikes than companies simply deciding to charge more.

New research from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) breaks down exactly what has been happening to candy prices – and found that the cost of some of the ingredients used to make confectionery has exploded.

Between December 2019 and November 2024, the consumer price index for candy and chewing gum jumped 32 percent.

Over the same period, the producer price index for confectionery materials – including ingredients such as cocoa products and corn sweeteners – soared 87.6 percent.

The import price index for sugar and confectionery manufacturing also climbed 73.3 percent.

So what is making candy so expensive? One of the biggest culprits is cocoa.

The BLS found that around 65 percent of ingredient costs for the US confectionery industry come from just three inputs: cocoa beans, sugar and corn syrup.

Cocoa alone accounts for around 28.4 percent, while corn syrup makes up 28.1 percent and sugar 8.7 percent.

And cocoa supplies have been under enormous pressure. Global cocoa production fell more than 13 percent in the 2023-24 season, dropping from around 5.04 million metric tons to 4.37 million metric tons. At the same time, demand remained relatively strong.

The biggest problem has been concentrated in West Africa, where Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana typically produce between 50 and 60 percent of the world's cocoa.

Both countries have experienced difficult weather conditions. Hotter and drier weather reduced soil moisture and affected bean sizes, while heavy rainfall subsequently contributed to diseases including cacao swollen shoot virus and black pod disease.

The rain also caused delays getting cocoa to ports. Ghana's 2023-24 crop eventually reached a 23-year low. The result was a nasty supply squeeze just as chocolate manufacturers were desperately trying to secure enough beans.

And the price of cocoa went through the roof. Cocoa futures, which had generally traded between $1,000 and $3,500 per metric ton from 2000 through the third quarter of 2022, climbed sharply from late 2022.

They briefly passed $11,000 per metric ton in April 2024, before reaching a record $12,565 per metric ton in December 2024, according to the BLS.