More than half of shoppers said they would prioritize gummy candies in their Halloween spending, and just shy of half said the same for hard candies, researchers found. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images/Postmedia files

Halloween is shaping up to be a test for the chocolate industry , as high cocoa costs threaten to accelerate a consumer shift toward cheaper and trendier sweets such as sour gummies.

For candy makers , Halloween remains crucial — the holiday made up nearly 18 per cent of annual United States candy sales last year, second only to Christmas. But chocolate makers have been passing along costlier input prices to consumers , and that’s leaving an opening for rivals — who have already seen a shift toward non-chocolate treats — to grab more market share.

It’s the la

See Full Page