You may have heard rumours about skyrocketing cocoa costs, the extinction of chocolate and other scary, clickbaity headings, but what’s really happening to the chocolate industry?
At Bennetto Natural Foods, we’re all about transparency, so allow us to break it down into bite-sized pieces from our perspective and fill you in on what’s going on with us!
The Cocoa Crisis - How Rising Cocoa Prices Have Impacted Bennetto Organic Chocolate
Inflation and the cost of living are hot topics these days, and cocoa, like everything, is always subject to pricing fluctuations. But, on top of general fluctuations and inflation increases, the cocoa/chocolate industry is also dealing with what has become known as “The Cocoa Crisis”. As makers of high-quality, high-cocoa content, organic chocolate, we know all about it…
Allow us to get you up to speed!
What is the cocoa crisis?
Cocoa is a crop that thrives in stable, tropical climates. Unsustainable farming practices and unpredictable weather patterns caused by climate change have made it more difficult to maintain steady yields.
Recent flooding in West Africa (where approximately 70% of the world’s cocoa beans are grown) has resulted in the deaths of more than a thousand people, displaced more than half a million individuals, and ruined the homes and properties of hundreds of thousands of families. This devastating weather has further increased pressure on the global cocoa supply, particularly cocoa butter, with many cocoa trees coming the end of their lives, causing considerable disruption to the supply chain.
With so much demand for so little product, the price of cocoa surged to more than $20,000NZD per metric tonne in April 2024 (up from an average price of around $4500 per metric tonne early 2023). As if this wasn’t bad enough, cocoa has also been purchased as a commodity and held; forcing the trading pricing up on the stock exchange and now lead times for raw materials can be over 12 months!
Currently the price of cocoa is very unstable, going up and down like a yoyo, making it incredibly difficult for businesses to know when to buy raw materials, or what the future might hold. In less “Wall Street” terms; what it all boils down to is that cocoa is the highest price it's been in 50+ years and cocoa has become harder and harder to source.
Naturally, as a result of the cocoa crisis, many chocolate makers have been forced to increase the cost of their products to maintain a healthy margin, and sadly some chocolate makers have had to close their doors entirely.
We don’t have a crystal ball, but experts expect the price of cocoa to plateau in mid-2025 which would be very positive news for us chocolate lovers! In the meantime, these challenges highlight the importance of sustainable farming practices and the need to support smallholder farmers, who are essential to the cocoa supply chain.
Why is high-quality organic chocolate impacted the most?
All of our bars are dark chocolate with 60% or more cocoa (our Super Dark comes in at a whooping 82% cocoa). This is already a higher cocoa butter component than most other brands and while it may add an extra layer of cost to manufacture per bar, it also makes for a tastier chocolate, and means we can skip the nasty fillers and preservatives.
Filler ingredients may help to keep costs down, and sourcing high-quality, organic-certified raw materials comes with an extra cost too, but we think it’s worth it, and we know that you do too!
What is Bennetto doing to combat the Cocoa Crisis?
The cocoa crisis sounds pretty doom and gloom, but we never want to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth!
Our main aim is always to create a significant positive impact through our ethical and Fairtrade commitments and to bring as much Fairtrade organic chocolate as sustainably possible to the masses. Here’s what we’re doing to navigate our way through the crisis as best as we can (or the cocoa challenge as we’d rather call it), all the way from bean to bar:
- We’re transitioning from a 100g bar to an 80g bar. While the decision to develop our 80g range was made long before the cocoa crisis (the idea being to align more with our competition and keep ahead of what was, at the time, business as usual), good things take time, and once we were ready to purchase cocoa for our new bars, the prices had already gone crazy.
- We’re keeping the price of our 100g bars where it is. As we were able to secure the raw materials for these bars before the height of the cocoa crisis, we want you to live like it’s 2022! Make the most of the old cocoa prices while we still have our 100g bars - chocolate lasts super well in a cool, dark place so this is your sign to stock up your pantry!
- We are doubling down to champion the organic and Fairtrade cause! We believe that if all cocoa was grown organically all over the world, with compassion for the land, it would result is a massive, positive impact on the environment, ensuring the longevity of the industry, and it might even combat a future cocoa crisis.
We’re always thinking about how we can produce organic dark chocolate that you’ll love and feel good about eating - not just because it’s made with only the best ingredients and tastes delicious, but because every bar contributes to a bigger goal of making a positive impact around the globe.
The cocoa challenge has offered us the chance to reflect on why we do what we do in the way that we do it. Bennetto chocolate is organic, Fairtrade chocolate that benefits everyone involved, from the farmer all the way to you, the chocolate lover, and everyone in between!
