There’s no sugar-coating it — chocolate and candy may be more difficult to purchase this holiday season

Could this be the year the supply chain stole Christmas?

More specifically, holiday sweets.

From Belgian chocolate to pickle-flavoured candy canes, there's no sugar-coating it - chocolate and candy may be more difficult to purchase this holiday season.

Nestle recently said the ongoing supply-chain crisis and labour shortage could affect the production and distribution of products ahead of the holiday season, but the situation hits closer to home, too.

Beanermunky Chocolates in Dundas specializes in small-batch, fork-dipped artisan chocolates and confections. They begin preparing for the holiday season the day after trick-or-treaters make their rounds on Halloween night, but they order their ingredients and supplies well before then.

Even though they prepared early this year, some of their supplies won't reach their shop in time.

Lori Eisenberger, the owner of Beanermunky, said they anticipated Belgian chocolate would be more difficult to secure this year due to supply-chain issues and labour shortages in Europe, but that wasn't the only product they found difficult to bring into their shop.

Acetate sheets for decorating, fudge and caramel also proved to be a challenge, and some won't be in stock until next year.

If one supplier is short, we found they're short everywhere," said Eisenberger.

Even if suppliers have items in stock, delivery times are slowing down.

Beanermunky uses custom chocolate boxes imprinted with their logo sourced from the United States. With labour shortages south of the border, those boxes are taking double the amount of time to arrive in Hamilton, Eisenberger said.

Besides the packaging their treats come in, some of their menu items, including their raspberry merlot and key lime pie-flavoured chocolates, will be limited due to the shortages.

What does this mean for eager holiday shoppers looking for sweets?

Be open to trying new products, Eisenberger said.

We're doing the best we can."

Walker's Chocolates is doing the best they can, too.

Owner Jennifer Walker said they are also experiencing delays with the chocolate packaging they ordered back in June and she doesn't know if they'll receive them by Christmas.

At the factory, staffing shortages are limiting their ability to create holiday treats like their hand-painted reindeers and gingerbread. Walker predicts those will fly off the shelves within the next week, leaving last-minute shoppers with limited choices.

We have to focus on the stuff that we can produce a little bit faster," she said. It won't be the full selection that people are used to."

Looking ahead to 2022, Valentine's Day and Easter are on her mind, and she doesn't expect the situation to fix itself before then.

Everything is snowballing at this point."

Keeping the focus on Christmas, some candy cane lovers will be left in a pickle.

Paul Mauro, the co-owner of Candi Werx on Concession Street, said they couldn't secure their popular pickle-flavoured candy canes this year and around 10 per cent of their total products aren't coming in.

Popeye's candy sticks were impossible to find earlier this year, too, and licorice pipe prices shot up, he said.

You can't expect things to be business-as-usual under these conditions - You get what you get, and you do your best," he said.

Alessia Passafiume is a reporter with The Spectator. Reach her via email: apassafiume@thespec.com