Shoppers warned of price hike on Halloween chocolates due to two key ingredients

The rising costs of cocoa and sugar means the average price of chocolate has increased by more than 10% in the past three months, with shoppers now being warned of the rising prices

Halloween shoppers are in for a shock at the tills this year, as the cost of trick-or-treat chocolates is set to soar. The price hike comes as the key ingredients for these sweet treats, cocoa and sugar, have seen significant increases in costs.

In the past three months alone, chocolate prices have risen by over 10%. According to trade journal Confectionery News, London cocoa prices surged by nearly 45% since the beginning of the year, reaching £5,302 per metric tonne last month.

The publication warned: "The confectionery space can expect alarming price rallies ahead of Halloween, prompted by the ongoing cocoa crisis and sugar supply slumps."

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It also advised consumers to brace themselves for higher prices, saying: "Consumers can expect to pay more at the tills for their sweet treats and are being advised to budget for higher confectionery expenditures."

Nidhi Jain, a commodity specialist with The Smart Cube, highlighted that cocoa supply issues in West Africa are "highly likely to keep prices elevated in the run-up to Halloween". She further noted: "Similarly, sugar prices are expected to rise over the rest of 2024 due to supply disruptions in major producing nations like Brazil and India, combined with seasonal demand growth. Given the volatile costs of these two commodities, there will be unavoidable affects on the consumer, with manufacturers considering price increases to confectionery products," reports the Mirror.

"Higher prices for sweets and chocolates seem inevitable as commodity costs rise. As cocoa supplies dwindle, chocolate makers are expected to raise prices, passing rising costs on to customers ahead of Halloween."

Chocolate prices have already been rising this year due to the problems with supply and demand. Last month, consumer group Which? found that a Cadbury multipack of treat-sized chocolate bars increased from £2.50 to £3.72; at Morrisons, a 360g Cadbury Milk Tray chocolate box rose from £4.01 to £5.74 and at Asda, a multipack of caramel and white Twix fingers increased from £1.65 to £2.35 – all price rises of more than 40% in just a year.

Meanwhile in July, The Grocer found Cadbury Dairy Milk prices had rocketed by as much as 12% in the past month. At the time, Cadbury said it had made price increases as a last resort due to experiencing significantly higher input costs and also pointing to the fact that cocoa and sugar cost far more than they have done previously.

Celebrations have also shrunk its tubs by 50g, from 600g to 550g, to mitigate the higher costs ahead of Christmas. Mars Wrigley, who make the chocolates, said the business had "been actively trying to find ways to absorb the rising costs of raw materials and operations. Unfortunately, the growing pressures mean more needs to be done."