Love Isn’t Cheap & Neither Is Chocolate This Valentine’s Day
Published: February 13th, 2024.
Valentine’s Day is all about love, romance, and, of course, chocolate. Whether heart-shaped boxes, fancy truffles, or a last-minute gas station candy grab, chocolate has long been the ultimate love language.
But this year? You might want to brace yourself because chocolate is getting more expensive—and not just by a little.
Prices are up 10-20% over last year, and this isn’t just a Valentine’s Day blip. The cost of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, has skyrocketed to record highs, and this chocolate crisis isn’t ending anytime soon.
The price of cocoa has been climbing for years, but in the past year alone, it’s reached unprecedented levels. At one point, cocoa was trading at over $12,000 per metric ton, more than double what it was just a year ago.
So what’s going on? It all comes down to where our chocolate comes from—and how climate change is making things worse.
Over 70% of the world’s cocoa comes from Ivory Coast and Ghana, but unpredictable weather has devastated harvests. Farmers in these regions are dealing with:
- Droughts that dry out cacao trees
- Heavy rains that drown crops and spread disease
- A cocoa plant virus that’s wiping out entire farms
With cocoa supplies shrinking and global demand still rising, chocolate companies are paying more for beans—and passing that cost to you.
From Lindt to Hershey’s, major chocolate companies are raising prices just to keep up. Swiss chocolatier Lindt called 2024 one of the toughest years for cocoa prices, while Mondelez, the company behind Cadbury and Toblerone, warned of even more price hikes ahead.
Hershey’s has managed to keep prices somewhat steady for now—but they buy cocoa a year in advance, meaning their real price increases haven’t even hit yet.
If you think chocolate is expensive this Valentine’s Day, just wait. Experts predict prices will keep rising throughout 2025, and some luxury chocolate brands may even become unaffordable for many consumers.
And it’s not just Valentine’s Day—chocolate prices will stay high for Easter, Halloween, and beyond.
There’s no quick fix. Even though some countries, like Ecuador, are trying to expand cocoa production, it takes 4 to 6 years for a cacao tree to start producing beans. That means even if more trees are planted today, we won’t see an increase in supply for years.
Until then? Chocolate lovers will have to pay the price.
So, if you plan to spoil your Valentine with chocolate, maybe grab an extra box— because this sweet treat is only getting more expensive.