You will have noticed that your favourite chocolate bars have got smaller and the price of them has gone up (almost every time you buy). Several factors are driving huge increases in the price of chocolate. Let’s explore some of the reasons behind ‘why does my chocolate cost so much?’.
Historical chocolate prices
The price of cocoa traded broadly within the range of £600-£1300 per metric tonne until 2008 and then between £1500-£2300 until the end of 2022.
From January 2023 onwards it has been rising steadily, completely surpassing previous ranges, to around £5600 per metric tonne at the end of February this year.
It does seem that higher cocoa prices are here to stay for the time being.
Chocolate used to be a rare treat only afforded by Royalty and very wealthy, you can read more about its fascinating history here.
Reasons behind the price increases*
•Several years of small crop shortages, with talk that this year the shortage could be as high as 1-1.5m tonnes, which would be 20-30% of the world’s annual consumption. This is having a dramatic effect on world stockpiles of cocoa.
•The implications of the new EU deforestation regulations (EUDR), whose likely full impact is still unknown. Ivory Coast is said to have lost around 85% of its forest since 1960 and this is what the EUDR is designed to address, alongside other issues such as child labour.
•The mounting challenges facing the cocoa farming industry by deforestation, El Nino effects, political instability, climate change, illegal mining, and disease.
The future of chocolate prices
The cocoa price may well keep going up for the foreseeable future. If and when it does come down, it is unclear how far down it will reduce, and over what period. Much will depend on how good the main harvest is in the new season, starting October 2024.
Over the longer term, higher prices should incentivise farmers to plant more cocoa, farm more sustainably and use better techniques to increase yields, but that will likely take at least 3-5 years to materially impact the size of the crop or bring prices down.
It is also worth bearing in mind that dark chocolates (average 60% cocoa content) will go up by more than milk/white chocolates (average cocoa content 28-35%), based simply on the cocoa content of the product.
Take your time to truly savour your favourite chocolate. If you want some tips on how to properly taste chocolate, then this may be helpful.
How can chocolate businesses adapt and survive?
The most obvious thing for most businesses to do is to increase prices. You will have experienced this when shopping for your favourite chocolate treat. Once prices hit the limit of what customers will accept, then what? Some businesses have adapted their offering and added non-chocolate-related items to their shops/outlets (Hotel Chocolat sells salted caramel vodka for example).
We need to communicate more about ethics and sustainability – to help consumers understand why chocolate needs to increase in price and reduce its footprint on the planet. If, collectively, the chocolate industry can increase understanding about these issues, chocolate starts to sit alongside other goods, like a sustainable cotton t-shirt, where we consumers just start to accept chocolate that should cost more.
What about The Melting Pot?
Here at The Melting Pot, we have tried to avoid price increases as much as possible, ever conscious of the demands on the household budget. I’ve adapted the workshops to ensure that there is still a reasonable profit margin to enable me to keep in business. However, I have tried to enhance the ‘experience’ element of the workshop, ensuring that your two hours have plenty of chocolate, education, and tasting included, as well as offering a variety of different styles of workshops and price points.
I buy chocolate for my workshops in 10kg bags, at the time of writing, this has risen to almost £100 per bag. My chocolate tanks hold eight kilos of chocolate per tank (and I currently have three tanks to fill for larger events). It’s quality Belgium chocolate, and I’m enjoying hosting you at workshops as much as ever. At the time of writing this blog, I’ve been offering workshops for 15 years. Theobroma Cacao (the Latin name of the cocoa tree) means ‘food of the Gods’ and it’s my privilege to continue to enjoy sharing its delights with you.
*With thanks to Keylink for supplying much of the chocolate information contained in this blog, and for continuing to support their customers as best they can through challenging times.