By Alice Seeley
Due to supply chain issues, trick-or-treaters may miss out on a classic candy this Halloween. Last week, Hershey Chief Executive Officer Michele Buck announced that “capacity constraints” mean the company will fall short of meeting the demand for Halloween and Christmas this year, from Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to Kit-Kat bars.
“Given many of our everyday and seasonal products are made on the same line, we have needed to balance production over the past several months to improve everyday on-shelf availability and build seasonal inventory at the same time,” stated Buck.
In a call, Buck told investors the company was struggling with the effects of inflation and supply chain delays caused by COVID and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Generally, we continue to see struggles across the supply chain,” she said. “We’re now starting to see bigger concerns relative to scarcity of ingredients needing to leverage different suppliers at higher cost and price points in order to secure production.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a shortage of baking cocoa, cooking oil, and other important food ingredients. These issues, combined with the need to meet the demands of the non-holiday periods, will most likely create a shortage.
However, consumers will not have to worry about empty shelves.
“We’ll all still be able to enjoy our favorite Hershey treats this Halloween; those treats may just be dressed up in everyday packaging versus Halloween-inspired or seasonal designs,” Hershey spokeswoman Ashleigh Pollart reported.
The capacity constraints were also caused by a “tremendous increase in consumer demand in the past few years,” Pollart continued. She said Hershey should be able to meet its seasonal demand next year.
