The Cacao Crisis
The ongoing cacao crisis is due to a combination of factors, including aging trees, crop-damaging diseases, and fluctuating weather patterns, specifically in Africa, where most of the worldwide cacao production has been.
Our cacao is produced in South America, and our production is stable. However, with extreme shortages in the worldwide market due to plummeting cacao output from Africa, prices have been surging everywhere.
Here are some informative articles (click to open in a new tab and learn more):
"Some chocolate makers are struggling to afford cocoa, which has risen in price by 400% in a year."
https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2024/04/04/cocoa-crisis-hits-chocolate-which-companies-will-survive/
Here are examples of increases we have seen over the past two years (this is our specific case):
Increase from beginning of 2023 to beginning of 2024: +32.41%
Increase from beginning of 2024 to late 2024: +45%
Increase from late 2024 to mid-2025: +81.51%
That’s a +248.62% increase in 2 years, and with no signs of it slowing down. In fact, it has only been getting worse, and forecasted to continue to. Prices continue to exceed historical record highs.
Meanwhile, our selling prices have not increased by 248.62%. Between 2020 until mid July 2025, we increased our 14 oz bag’s selling price by only 41.18%, and our bulk bag by 61%. We have been absorbing a lot of the cost hikes to help ease customers into the exponential continuous increases. However, in order to remain profitable and stay in business, we must also increase pricing according to the changing market.
We would love to see cacao production grow in other parts of the world, which will hopefully then stabilize pricing at some point in the future. For example, Southeast Asia's climate is ideal for growing cacao trees in various zones. South America may be able to produce more. Of course, we wish to see this happen with sustainability, eco-consciousness, and fair labor in mind. In the meantime, it seems that chocolate, especially high quality chocolate, may become more and more of a premium product, more than ever before.
And then, there's also the prospect of lab grown chocolate, as we head into the future with the increasing lab grown solutions:
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/agribusiness/lab-grown-cocoa-is-coming-soon-from-switzerland/88614047
We're not sure we're thrilled about this option; we much prefer a sustainable earth-grown crop, and we believe there's enough space in compatible climate zones on earth to do so - though with the climate changing everywhere in the world, it may pose an issue in those areas at well at some point.
We anticipate that companies with commercial products containing cacao derivatives will either have to deal with lowered profit margins in their chocolate-flavored varieties, or will have to adapt and be forced to charge more for their chocolate-containing products specifically, in order to remain profitable.
We're dedicated to continuing to be purveyors of cacao for as long as possible. We believe that there will always be a demand despite rising costs, as there are avid chocolate lovers all over the world that would be glad to, and be able to, pay a higher price if needed.