TOPEKA (KSNT) – Halloween may be all about costumes and candy for kids, but for the people buying treats, it can mean planning and budgeting months in advance.
College Hill resident Ralynn Schmidt said she expects about 400 trick-or-treaters to visit her home each year, making Halloween one of the family’s bigger seasonal expenses.
“I always plan on 400 people stopping by,” Schmidt said. “This year, deciding: are we going to be stingy and just give one little piece?”
Schmidt said her family budgets year-round for Halloween and looks for candy sales whenever they can.
“We know that October is going to be more expensive for us,” Schmidt said. “This year we did have to make some cuts as everything’s just gotten expensive.”
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Rising costs are also impacting candy manufacturers. Brian Pardo, factory director at Mars in Topeka, said cocoa remains one of the biggest costs in making chocolate products.
“Cocoa prices are high,” Pardo said. “That’s probably the biggest expense, I would say, in making the candy.”
According to The Associated Press, cocoa prices have doubled over the past two years. Pardo said that despite higher cocoa costs, this has been Mars’ biggest production year yet. He added the company offers a variety of bag sizes to help shoppers with different budgets. The National Retail Federation estimates consumers will spend more than $4 billion on candy this Halloween. Many of the fun-sized treats given out during the holiday are produced in Topeka, according to Pardo.
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