LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Chocolate Easter bunnies are hopping off of shelves this Easter season as families do some last-minute Easter shopping. Rob Sharp, owner of Sharp’s Candies, feels satisfied with this Easter season.
“So far, as I look around, we don't have much stock left, so we've had a very successful Easter season,” Sharp said.
The National Retail Federation expects consumers to spend over $22 billion this Easter. That slots in as the second-most sales during the Easter season – just behind the $24 billion from Easter 2023. Sharp’s Candies certainly felt the spending this year.
“So Good Friday for Easter season is our biggest day, so we're kind of in the last hours of our Easter season right now,” Sharp said. “After the Easter season here next week, what we have left will have reduced pricing.”
Cocoa chaos looms however, as chocolate prices have risen more than 140% in the past year. A one-two combination of a heavy rainfall period followed by strong winds hampered cocoa production. The rain made travel in West Africa difficult while the winds dried up cocoa pods, which fell prematurely.
The resulting cocoa shortage caused prices to soar. The Associated Press reports cocoa costs $10,000 per metric ton, doubling prices from February and setting a new record high. This shortage has yet to be felt in chocolate prices.
Sharp helped explain. “We certainly are going to fall into that. As of right now, we are still under contract, locked in at a certain price. But my contract expires at the end of April, and then I'm going to have to go out a renegotiate the contract. Most expectedly it's going to be higher.”
These contracts with cocoa providers signed last year haven’t expired yet. But when they do, the new contracts will certainly be higher, resulting in more expensive chocolate overall.
Enjoy this Easter because future holidays will likely have a larger price tag.
