Earlier this year, cocoa prices reached record highs. Following a similar, but not quite as extreme, price hike in April last year, they reached $10.75 (€9.47) per kilogram on January 31.
They have since reduced, though remain above 2023 levels. Nevertheless, the price pressure has started to impact consumers, and this at the most chocolatey time of the year: Easter.
Price hikes hit Easter eggs
One of the most significant issues with price rises is consumer demand. While manufacturers can, in theory, pass prices on to consumers, they must balance this with the possibility that high prices will turn people off and reduce demand, therefore impacting their bottom line.
This is less of a problem for “seasonal chocolate” than for ordinary chocolate, according to Margaux Laine, consultant at Euromonitor International.
“Seasonal chocolate is a category where manufacturers have greater flexibility to adjust prices and pack sizes, as consumers tend to be less price sensitive compared to when purchasing more everyday categories like countlines,” she explains.
This is because, unlike everyday chocolate bars, which are often at the counter at newsagents and are particularly “everyday” treats, Easter eggs are usually brought as gifts. Their status as a gift, says Laine, makes consumers more willing to spend.
Even when not a gift, Easter products are “treated as a special indulgence tied to the occasion”.
This has resulted in price hikes, as manufacturers feel that they can afford them. According to Euromonitor’s data, the price of Easter products from the five leading chocolate manufacturers, offered through March to mid-April, were, on average, 18% more expensive in 2025 than they were in 2024.
Why cocoa prices have risen
Cocoa prices have been hit with a range of problems over the past two years. For example, swollen shoot disease has impacted crop yields, as have rising temperatures, in major producing countries Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Other factors have also played a role, such as Ghana’s illegal gold mining trade. The impact of the trade on the soil and water health of cocoa farms has hit yields.
