Hershey’s prices for chocolate are rising
If you enjoy Hershey’s chocolate bars, Reese’s, KitKat, or York Peppermint Patties, you may need to prepare for some changes. Hershey has said that the price of its chocolate will increase soon by a “low double-digit” percentage. In other words, your sweet treats will soon be extremely expensive in relation to their former prices.
Why? One main ingredient is becoming extremely expensive—cocoa.
The price increase is not caused by taxes, trade regulations, or changes in business policy, according to Hershey. Rather, it’s because cocoa prices are increasing rapidly—higher than anyone predicted.
Chocolate’s primary ingredient is cocoa. Cocoa beans are where it comes from, and they’re primarily cultivated in West Africa, particularly in nations such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
In 2024 alone, the cost of cocoa increased by 178%. That is nearly double that of last year. Cocoa prices also jumped 61% in 2023 and have increased more than 73% over the last five years.
What Hershey spoke about the increase
Hershey’s spokesperson explained that this is not just a subtle tweaking. The changes will touch all Hershey brands, including:
- Hershey’s Original Chocolate Bars
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- KitKat
- York Peppermint Patties
- And others like Hershey’s Kisses
The spokesperson clarified:
“This adjustment is not related to tariffs or trade policy. It is the response to the rising cost of ingredients, like the historic high price of cocoa.”
The effective date of the cost rise hasn’t been announced yet. In any case, price rises such as this usually take around 90 days to roll out. So there may still be a brief time to purchase the chocolate at its current price.
So if you are fond of Hershey’s, now may be the moment to stock up prior to the costs going up.
What Hershey’s CEO had to say about costs
Earlier in May, Hershey CEO Michele Buck indicated that the company had already sought ways to cap the outrageous price of cocoa and other commodities.
She further indicated that Hershey would:
- Change the pack size of its chocolates
- Drive pricing levels
- Focus on producing chocolates with less cocoa
This translates into some products being downsized but not made lower in price. And there might be other products that have less chocolate in them, like salty snacks or sweets that are not chocolate.
“We love our chocolate business, and we want to continue to grow that,” Buck said. “But we also know that if we get into white spaces like sweets, better-for-you, and salty, it adds more consumers and occasions.”
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Why is cocoa so expensive right now?
The cocoa price has gone up for several significant reasons:
1. Unfavorable weather: Global warming is causing increased heavy rain and unpredictable weather in cocoa-producing regions.
2. Crop diseases: Diseases like black pod rot, an infection that attacks cocoa trees, have reduced the number of healthy cocoa plants.
3. Inadequate investment: West African cocoa farmers receive little income from their crops. This has led to very little investment in high-quality seeds, fertilizers, and tree replanting.
4. Low output, high demand: As a result of substandard farm conditions, there is less cocoa, even though the high demand for chocolate continues across the globe.
Tracey Allen, a commodity analyst at J.P. Morgan, said:
“Cocoa is a commodity where the grower develops a very high-value product but gets a very low share of the actual value chain.”
That is, the cocoa farmers don’t get paid enough in order to keep their farms and improve their crops.
What Hershey plans to do next
To address the higher costs, Hershey says it could focus more on:
- Other sweets that are not made of cocoa, such as fruit-flavored sweets or snack foods that are savory
- Smaller chocolate bars, but in the same or greater price
- Healthier snack items (also known as “better-for-you” products)
Thus, Hershey can continue to deliver snacks that are popular among individuals, even if chocolate is too costly to use in the same proportions.
What you can do as a consumer
These are some tips to deal with the looming price increase:
- Watch for sales: Buy your favorite chocolates when they are on sale beforehand, as prices go up afterwards.
- Buy in bulk: Sometimes larger packs have better value per unit.
- Try other sweets: Hershey and others may introduce non-chocolate sweets at a lower price.
- Beware of shrinkflation: Some chocolate bars may be downsized, but not the price.
