The CEO of Barry Callebaut announced that chocolate prices will rise between 15 and 18 percent. Reuters reports that Patrick de Maeseneire told the Handelszeitung in Switzerland that raw materials contribute about 25 percent to the total price of a 100 gram chocolate bar and that cocoa, in turn, represents half of that. Since cocoa prices have doubled over the past year and other commodities like milk and sugar have increased in price as well, Mr. de Maeseneire reasoned that a 15-18 percent price increase is warranted.
Hedging Increases in the Food Industry
A couple of days ago, the Financial Times reported that Hershey is the latest in of a long string of food processors that will divert an increasing amount of their financial resources in commodity market hedging against future price increases.
Hershey raises Prices
The increases in commodity prices have had their effects on many consumer products and, given the rally in cocoa prices, it was only a question of time before chocolate prices would follow suit. Last week Hershey announced that it would increase candy bar prices by 11%.
Another African Chocolate Producer
I just read that the South African company Chocolates by Tomes will begin making their own chocolate exclusively from African ingredients. According to an article at iAfrica.com, the company had previously imported its chocolate from Barry Callebaut but decided to begin its own production using cocoa from Ghana and the Côte d’Ivoire, vanilla from Madagascar and sugar and milk powder from South Africa. That’s a great development and I applaud Chocolatier Richard Tomes for taking this step.
The Luxury Chocolate Market
A couple of weeks ago a number of news sources reported the arrival of the £5,000 box of chocolates at Harrods in London–that’s almost $10,000 for 49 chocolates hand-wrapped and placed in suede leather, partitioned with gold and platinum. Lebanese chocolatier Patchi is said to have used “the finest grown cocoa.”
The reports don’t really tell us how the chocolates were made, but I wonder if Patchi actually made the chocolate that ended up in his fancy chocolates.
There is a big difference between making chocolate and making chocolates. The former is a complex process that requires quite a bit of machinery and know-how while the latter can be done in a regular kitchen by a modestly skilled person.
