WAUWATOSA, Wis. — The price of Halloween candy at the grocery store might be scarier than any ghost or goblin this year.

The grocery shopping research firm, Catalina Marketing, estimates chocolate bars will cost consumers about 20% more than last year. Toffee or caramel-based candies will be up nearly 13%.

While overall inflation has played a role in rising prices, ingredient shortages are also contributing. Bad weather in sugar-growing regions of Asia and South America have led to a shortage of sugar this year, leading to rising prices.

While it is the rising cost of big-name candy that grabs the headlines, smaller producers aren’t immune from rising ingredient prices either.

Pat Murphy owns Ultimate Confections in Wauwatosa. Murphy said he has seen his costs go up over the last few years. While inflation has slowed, he still notices things costing more.

“Sugar has gone up, other things have gone up. Not only that, but labor is up, all the bills that I have to pay for, everything is up,” said Murphy as he made a batch of chocolate-covered Oreos.

Murphy said the recent increase in the price of sugar is causing other ingredients to get more expensive, all of which are items he can’t do without.

“Caramel is probably the biggest price increase as of late, noticeably. Probably because caramel is so high in sugar,” said Murphy. “If you are a consumer that is following things closely, you know sugar is one of those products or commodities that has gone up in price and we use a lot of caramel.” 

Murphy said with uncertain ingredient costs, he constantly must reassess his prices. He said he needs to make up for the added cost of doing business, but doesn’t want customers to have to take on too much of the burden.

“You don’t want to price yourself out of the market, yet if you want to be in the market, you have to price yourself so you can still be a viable business,” said Murphy.

For large candy producers, Halloween is sometimes known as the Super Bowl because it is the busiest time of year for the confectionary industry as a whole. However, Murphy said at Ultimate Confections, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter are busier holidays. Still, Murphy and staff are already beginning preparations for the busy holiday season.