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- High cocoa prices in the market are continuing, driving up the price of chocolate.
- Leading manufacturers such as Lindt, Nestlé, Mars and Mondelez are announcing further increases in their products.
- Experts predict that high chocolate prices will persist until at least the end of 2025, with a decline dependent on improving harvests in Africa and stabilising the raw material market.
Cocoa price rise prompts response from chocolate makers
Recent reports from the chocolate market point to a further increase in chocolate prices, which is directly linked to the rising cost of cocoa. Leading manufacturers, such as Swiss company Lindt & Sprüngli, are announcing further increases to take effect this year. The company has already increased the prices of its products by 6.3% in 2024, but, as the company’s CFO Martin Hug admits, this is not enough to cover the rising cost of cocoa. As a result, the company is planning further, possibly even higher, increases in 2025 – by up to double-digit percentages. Lindt is not the only one to feel the effects of more expensive cocoa – Nestlé, Mars and Mondelez (maker of Milka chocolate) are also facing price adjustments for their products.
According to experts, chocolate may become a luxury item in the coming months and consumers will face higher prices for sweets – both in the premium segment and among cheaper brands. This could also affect changes in shopping habits, prompting consumers to seek alternatives or reduce their chocolate consumption.
Check out the article worth reading: Chocolate price goes up: is this the end of cheap sweets?
Is there a chance of prices falling?
The main reason for the price rise is the record price of cocoa on world markets. Since 2023, its value has more than doubled, currently remaining at historically high levels. High cocoa prices are the result of climate change and crop failures in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the spread of plant diseases that destroy cocoa crops, as well as higher energy and transport prices and inflation.
Experts predict that chocolate prices will remain high until at least the end of 2025. It all depends on whether the cocoa harvest in Africa improves in the following years and whether the commodity market situation stabilises. However, chocolate will certainly become more expensive than it was 2-3 years ago.
