Sweets don't taste the same anymore

Products that have changed their recipe to vegan taste like plastic and I don't know what's causing this. Is it the agar agar powder they replace the gelatin with?

Maybe the inflation is to blame. The cost of sweets has increased a lot in the past few years (at least here in Finland). Have they changed more ingredients to cheaper ones?

I've tried to keep my sweet tooth in check and be more healthy by cutting out overly sugary and salty things. It's not like I've stopped eating them altogether but since I started to limit myself (4 months ago?) I have noticed this change to be more apparent.