Chocolate price shock: sweets become small and expensive!

Chocolate price shock: sweets become small and expensive!

The chocolate prices rise on the world market due to record prices for cocoa, and consumers are faced with reality that they receive a third less chocolate for each euro than five years ago. According to the US investment bank JPmorgan, the industry is facing a possible wave of inflation that already affects the popularity of sweets. In particular, Lindt's “gold bunny” costs over 4 euros for the first time, while panels have become almost a third more expensive, which has a strong influence on consumers' purchase decisions. Ritter Sports Alpenmilch variety is now available with a price of 1.89 euros instead of 1.49 euros, and the Milka brand was chosen for the "Mogel pack of the month" after the board has shrunk from 100 to 90 grams, while the price rose from 1.49 to 1.99 euros. These developments are in the context of a change in the market, which is due to climate change and mismanagement in the main construction regions of cocoa. Experts predict that the times are cheap cocoa.

in West Africa, the main construction region for cocoa, the harvests have decreased massively as a result of extreme weather events and climatic changes. The cocoa production in Ghana in 2024 collapsed by almost half and led to the worst harvest in two decades. The price for a ton of cocoa rose to up to 12,000 euros, which is six times as expensive as a few years ago. Cocoa farmers such as Samuel report on serious losses and financial difficulties. In addition, you only get 9 percent of supermarket prices, which means that you often earn less than half of what you need for survival. Ghana's cocoa authority buys beans for around 3,000 euros per ton, while the market price is significantly higher.

sustainability and market adjustments

The growing uncertainty on the cocoa market means that companies are increasingly investing in sustainability programs in order to increase income and reduce deforestation. The EU renovation regulations restrict new plantings in new cultivation areas, which further contains production capacities. At the same time, Oxfam calls for higher direct payments from manufacturers and supermarkets to cocoa farmers to improve their living conditions. In Germany, around 80 percent of the cocoa comes from the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which illustrates the dependence on these regions.

worldwide, the costs for cocoa increase, which is illustrated in the industry by increasing the average price by 67.55 percent, reinforced by the EL Niño phenomenon. Owed to the cost crisis, consumers are increasingly looking for healthier, more sustainable options and desire transparency in the supply chain. Companies are required not only to communicate price increases transparently, but also to offer nutritional improvements and new product variants. A growing trend is the development of "cocoa -free" chocolate, in which ingredients such as currant bread, oats and sunflower seeds are used, which represents a reaction to the increasing demand for healthier alternatives.