Candy afficionados are about to get some bad news: Hershey and other chocolate makers are continuing to hike prices, saying a volatile cocoa market gives them no choice.
According to a report from The Associated Press, Hershey – which produces candies such as Reese’s and Whoppers — said Wednesday that it will be raising U.S. retail prices later this fall (though prices of Halloween candy will be spared). In some cases, pack sizes will get smaller; in others, list prices will rise. The average price increase will be in the low double-digit percentages, the AP reported.
“This change is not related to tariffs or trade policies. It reflects the reality of rising ingredient costs including the unprecedented cost of cocoa,” Hershey said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Swiss chocolatier Lindt said it raised prices by 15.8% in the first half of this year. The company said it was able to offset some of the higher cost of cocoa with long-term contracts but had to pass much of it on to consumers.
“The development of the global chocolate market in the first half of 2025 was a continuation of what we saw in 2024, with cocoa prices remaining close to record highs,” said Adalbert Lechner, Lindt’s CEO, in a conference call with investors, according to the AP report.
Cloetta, a Swedish confectionary company, told investors last week that it raised chocolate prices in the second quarter. And Nestle raised U.S. prices for products like Toll House chocolate chips in the spring.
Cocoa prices have more than doubled over the past two years due to poor weather and disease in West Africa, which supplies more than 70% of the world’s cocoa, the AP reported.
