Mom found a single blue gummy bear in its own plastic wrapper in her son’s trunk-or-treat haul, and she claims it’s ‘a true sign’ of the economy

Halloween candy prices have climbed sharply this year, and some parents are now inspecting their kids’ hauls more closely. A mom is speaking out after her son brought home bizarre Halloween candy. Danielle Martin took to TikTok to explain that her son received just a single gummy bear.

Martin said she found the candy while going through her son’s haul from a recent trunk-or-treat. She held up a single blue gummy bear wrapped in plastic. “A true sign of how horrible our current economy is,” Danielle Martin said in the video.

The video arrived as shoppers were already complaining about the rising cost of Halloween candy, with some reportedly considering handing out cash instead. Martin later told the outlet she wasn’t bashing the person who handed out the treat. She claimed she was only commenting on its “singleness” and that her family was happy to receive any candy.

Martin says her son was actually thrilled to get the lonely gummy bear

Martin told the outlet that her son was thrilled to find the individually wrapped gummy bear. She said the candy excited him, as his favorite stuffed animal is a gummy bear-shaped toy called “Blue Bear.” She also claimed that the rest of his haul was otherwise satisfactory.

The gummy bear appears to come from Frankford, a brand that typically sells novelty candy like Krabby Patty gummies or jumbo gummy bears. Martin said she has noticed more individually wrapped candies lately, such as a single stick of gum or a lone Swedish Fish. However, she claimed she has not noticed candy getting smaller over the years.

Other parents in the comment section shared similar experiences. One commenter claimed their child received a single wrapped gummy bear alongside a lone Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kid. Another alleged that a $35 bag of candy advertised 180 pieces, only for half of them to be single gummy bears apparently.

Martin said she was shocked by the reaction, as many commenters suggested the candy might be a THC gummy. Others reportedly made the video political, while some blamed Trunk or Treats for Halloween’s downfall. She disagreed with that last group, arguing that the events give families more chances to enjoy free, festive activities all month.

One report says candy prices are rising about four times faster than inflation

A new analysis from Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation found that Halloween candy prices rose 15.3% this season. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed overall consumer prices rose 3.7% over the 12 months ending in September. The foundation, a progressive think tank, called the candy increase four times the overall inflation rate.

Gummy candy appears to have taken some of the steepest jumps, according to the foundation. It reported that gummy prices from Mondelez, which makes Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish, surged 39%. Hershey and Wrigley gummies reportedly rose 21% and 17.4%, though the group noted cocoa prices have fallen by more than half from their 2024 peak.

The foundation blamed the increase on corporate pricing decisions, as sugar and corn syrup costs also dropped over the past year. Calling everyday oddities a “recession indicator” has become a running joke online, per NPR. However, the official call on a U.S. recession comes from the National Bureau of Economic Research, which weighs data like employment and income.

The National Retail Federation projected that Halloween spending would reach a record $13.5 billion this year, topping last year’s $13.1 billion despite the steeper candy prices.

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