Posted on 07/28/2025 5:00:18 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Shrinkflation meets inflation as The Hershey Company responds to rising cocoa prices with packaging changes.
-The Hershey Company will increase U.S. retail prices this fall due to the ongoing surge in global cocoa prices, which have reached historic highs driven by poor harvests and the impacts of climate change in key growing regions.
-The company expects low double-digit percentage price hikes, with some product packaging sizes reduced, although Halloween-specific candies will be exempt from the increases.
-Hershey’s is also seeking a tariff exemption, expecting chocolate import costs to reach as much as $100 million in the second half of 2025 once current domestic inventories are depleted. Your next bite of chocolate may come at a much higher price point.
The Hershey Company announced it will raise prices on its retail products in the U.S. this fall due to the volatile global price of cocoa, which has been steadily climbing for months. According to the Associated Press, some of its product packaging will be reduced in size, while others will see outright price increases.
“This change is not related to tariffs or trade policies. It reflects the reality of rising ingredient costs, including the unprecedented cost of cocoa,” the company shared in a statement. It added that the price hikes will be in the "low" double-digit percentages.
As Food & Wine reported in late 2024, cocoa prices had reached an all-time high largely due to reduced yields caused by climate change. In 2023, the Fairtrade Foundation’s Endangered Aisle report stated that cocoa-growing regions like Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana might become too hot to cultivate the crop by 2050.
The Hershey Company shared that, currently, the prices are not due to tariffs, but that doesn't mean it isn't concerned about the threat. Food Dive reported in May that the brand asked the White House for an exemption from tariffs and told investors that it expected its tariff bill to be between $15 million and $20 million during the second quarter of 2025. Although it noted that once it depletes its chocolate stockpile already in the United States, the tariff bill could reach $100 million in the second half of the year.
"Cocoa cannot be grown in the United States, and thus, we are engaging with the U.S. government to seek an exemption," the company's CEO, Michele Buck, shared in a statement at the time. "Our legacy is one of American industrialism and ingenuity, and we continually invest in domestic manufacturing."
Billions Eat This Staple Grain Daily, But Climate Change Could Poison the World’s Supply There is at least one glimmer of good news. The Hershey Company announced that these upcoming price hikes won't affect the cost of its specially packaged candies for Halloween, giving at least some sense of relief before the rest of the holiday season kicks in.
It's also not the only chocolate company having to make price adjustments. The AP noted that this week, Lindt also raised prices by 15.8% in the first half of this year to offset the rising cost of cocoa.
Adalbert Lechner, the company's CEO, said during a call with investors that “The development of the global chocolate market in the first half of 2025 was a continuation of what we saw in 2024, with cocoa prices remaining close to record highs." As of July 24, cocoa futures in the U.S. hit $8,135 per ton, up from $2,474 in July 2020.
I don’t drink beer...never liked it. Don’t drink any kind of alcohol. I used to like a margarita or Bloody Mary if I was eating dinner out, but stopped back in the late 90’s once I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. I enjoy pizza. I don’t eat any seafood or fish either. Tried Shrimp once and got sick after.
Of course. A commie to my bones. :)
I remember the first time I ever saw a pizza. Was a teenager. Immediate barf alert.
Looked and smelled disgusting. As an adult, I don’t eat wheat and now know that pigs have higher IQs than dogs. You want to eat little slices of Cocker Spaniels?
Maybe your shrimp came from a fish farm, where a lot of fish get diseases. Most Atlantic fish are farmed.
I get terrific Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon in the freezer at Safeway. Enjoy a glass of Chardonnay with dinner.
I was married to a diabetic. Drank a lot of vodka anyway, which contributed to his death.
Some people have a death wish. I was married to a philanderer, and unfortunately, the bastard is still alive. He moved out west and hasn't had anything to do with his two sons for over 40 years.
Sorry , Hershey’s no where near my favorite chocolate.
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Mayor Ray Nagin’s “Chocolate City” hardest hit. It has me singin’ da blues.
EC
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