Even Candy Isn’t Safe From Price Hikes In 2026

It’s a tough time to be a consumer – and given that, unless you’ve gone completely off-grid, we’re all consumers, that means that it’s a tough time for…everyone. Prices have gone through the roof in 2026, and everything from groceries to protein to restaurant food from Chipotle and McDonald’s has gotten way more expensive. We thought we might be able to take some solace in candy. Delicious, sugary, usually fairly inexpensive candy. 

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But no. Candy prices have gone through the roof, too. And people have noticed. 

Is Nothing Safe?

The rising price of candy was recently laid bare in a Reddit thread, in which a customer posted an image of some candy bags with some utterly wild prices. In the picture, which was taken in a gas station in Florida, a bag of Skittles Pop’d was $10.29. A simple bag of milk chocolate raisins, meanwhile, was well over $8. It’s enough to make your eyes water, people. “I swear, everything you see there would cost HALF if not 3/4 of this only a few years ago,” said the person who posted the image. 

Now, it should be said that these are definitely gas station prices (which the original poster acknowledged) – and people in the comment section were quick to point that out. They also stated that there are still plenty of reasonable options in places like dollar stores. However, other commenters also shared their own pictures of high-priced candy options and confirmed that they, too, had been stung by all of their favorite sweet treats getting more expensive. 

Oh, and there’s data, too. 

Data, You Say? 

Yes, data, I say. Research from InvestorObserver published earlier this year, and discussed over at Confectionery Production, found that candy prices had gone up 67% in the last six years. Easter candy prices are particularly susceptible to price rises, as well as shrinkflation – but other candy products have also been found to exhibit the latter. As with other price increases across groceries, foods, and household goods, the spiralling cost of candy is down to a combination of inflation, supply shortages, and market disruption and chaos prompted by tariffs. Chocolate products have been especially badly affected due to escalating cocoa prices.

These costs don’t look set to drop significantly any time soon, either. Will it be that candy will become completely unaffordable for everyone? Unlikely. Is it the case that it’s starting to get uncomfortable to buy it? Definitely.