Sky-High Chocolate Prices Could Put A Damper On Valentine's Day

Lacy paper hearts, chubby-cheeked cherubs, red and pink stripes ... all of these put one in mind of Valentine's Day, but nothing stands as a symbol of the holiday quite like chocolate. Rife with the symbolism of sweetness and desire, chocolate has been given and received by sweethearts on Valentine's Day since Richard Cadbury had the brilliant idea to package heart-shaped packages of bonbons during the Victorian Era. This year, however, buying chocolate (or any other cocoa product) for the apple of your eye could put a hurtin' on your wallet that has nothing to do with Cupid's archery skills. 

Inflation is being seen almost everywhere across the grocery store — one very current and notorious cost crisis actually has restaurants passively-aggressively advertising on the basis of not adding an egg surcharge — and it seems that chocolate could be the latest victim. According to CNN, the wholesale price of cocoa hit an all-time high in December: $12,646 for a metric ton. At that figure, some of the leading chocolate manufacturers in America have stated that they will have to raise the prices of Valentine's Day chocolate by 10 to 20%. You can thank several consecutive years of horrendous weather in West Africa, where much of the world's cocoa is produced, along with a widespread blight known as cacao swollen shoot virus (CSVV) affecting the African plants on a devastating scale.

Lindt, the Swiss manufacturer of those delicious Lindor filled truffle balls, predicted that 2025 "will be a very challenging year for the chocolate industry" (via Reuters) in its 2024 year-end report. It stated that, in the face of cocoa costs rising by 180%, it will likewise have to raise prices, though it did not say specifically how much. Competitor Mondelez International, the parent company of Cadbury and Toblerone, also predicted higher prices in its own 2024 wrap-up. One of the few big names in chocolate that won't see increases — at least, not in time for Valentine's Day 2025 — is Hershey, which apparently buys its cocoa a year in advance, and therefore is safe from skyrocketing costs for the moment.

This year, it might benefit you to think outside the box when it comes to sweets for your Valentine ... the heart-shaped chocolate box, that is. Many of the tempting treats on our list of this year's best new candy products are cocoa-based, but there are several that are not, including Champagne lollipops, crystal candy gems, and gourmet gummy bears. Of course, when in doubt, there is always that trusty box of chalky conversation hearts to send the sincere messages your heart really intends, like BAE and TEXT ME.