Why Valentine’s Day chocolate is more expensive

INDIANAPOLIS — Chocolates are a Valentine’s Day favorite, but people buying them for their sweethearts are paying more this year.

Chocolate prices are up 20% or more this year, which doesn’t make Valentine’s Day any sweeter. Those looking for last-minute gift ideas are going to find themselves reaching deeper into their wallet.

Experts say this price increase isn’t a fleeting occurrence and may stick around for quite some time.

Despite this, local chocolate shop owners are just as busy as expected.

“We’ve been able to do a lot of pre-orders, which reduces their time of wait in the shop. It’s a grab and go at that point in time,” said Todd Polizotto, co-owner of Schakolad Chocolate Factory

Polizotto said creating his delights has become more expensive, since prices for the cocoa beans used in chocolates started skyrocketing.

“With the chocolate prices going up, those being solid chocolates were impacted more than things like turtles and toffee and things where they’re just covered in chocolate,” Polizotto said.

Polizotto isn’t alone. Chocolate makers everywhere are feeling the pinch. Most of the world’s cocoa comes from Africa and a series of bad storms, followed by a plant disease, led to a massive drop in supplies.

“We’ve had production declines globally for the last three crop years,” said David Branch, a Wells Fargo analyst.

Branch said cocoa futures have quadrupled since 2022. With higher production cost, many global manufactures are raising prices. Consumers aren’t seeing a big increase for typical candy bars made with milk chocolate, but it’s a different story for dark chocolate that uses more cocoa.

“We’re going to see those prices go up more for the pure chocolate, I would say, versus the milk chocolate products that have other ingredients mixed in,” Branch explained.

Consumers have noticed the price increase when walking into Schakolad, but Polizotto said it’s necessary if they’re going to be around for the long haul.

“We can’t help it. It’s not something we want to do but we want to be here for Easter. We want to be here for Mother’s Day and, in order to do that, we have to charge accordingly,” Polizotto said.

Local shop owners hope cocoa costs will stabilize and eventually come down, but they aren’t getting their hopes up as that isn’t expected to happen anytime soon.