Living with Higher Cocoa Prices

The most obvious thing to do is to increase your prices, so if you need to do that in the short term, then you should do it because every business needs to be profitable to survive. 

But once you hit the limit of what your customers will accept, then what? Well the answer is to look at other parts of your cost structure to see where you can make savings and reduce the cost per unit wherever possible. 

Could my Overheads Work Harder for Me? 

The size of your premises is fixed, as are most of your fixed costs, such as rent, rates and utilities. So the best way to reduce the cost per chocolate of your overheads is to sell more product, thereby spreading the fixed cost over a larger number of units sold. 

You could start selling other complementary products alongside your chocolates – in other words, diversify so you are using less chocolate across your overall business. Hotel Chocolat sell a salted caramel vodka (and a cacao pulp gin!). Some chocolate shops sell a chocolate-scented candle, or have diversified into cakes/coffee/ice cream, etc. As an extension to that idea – and it’s one we suggested during the pandemic – some might use one or two of their chocolate products as part of a hamper containing other non-chocolate goods. 

You could also just make more chocolates – if you have the capacity, then could there be more opportunities to sell more products and grow your business? 

You can also position yourself as more premium than you did before which would help justify higher prices. Promote the idea that chocolate is an ‘affordable luxury’ compared to other things like eating out or holidays as well as a ‘permissible luxury’ in difficult times. 

Communicate more about ethics and sustainability – to help consumers understand why chocolate needs to increase in price and reduce its footprint on the planet. If, collectively, the chocolate industry can increase understanding about these issues, chocolate starts to sit alongside other goods, like a sustainable cotton t-shirt, where we consumers just start to accept chocolate that should cost more. 

Could I be More Productive and Reduce the Labour Cost Element of my Products? 

If you are using table-top melters or wheel machines, it is highly likely that you would benefit from an investment in a small automatic tempering machine. The cost of this on lease can be as low as £7 per day but the saving in time and the improvement in quality can justify this cost many times over. An automatic temperer is also likely to increase your capacity, which would help you make more chocolates and further reduce your overhead per chocolate. 

Please do read our recent article on how to Boost your Productivity with Time-Saving Chocolate Making Machinery for more thoughts and ideas on this subject. 

Could I save Money on Ingredients without Sacrificing Quality? 

A good way to do this is to switch to ready-made fillings for your pralines, such as Callebaut’s Crème a la Carte, Tintoretto, Crème dell Artigiano and Cremas. Many of these products are cheaper per kg than chocolate but even where they are not, there can be a considerable time saving compared to making a ganache for instance because they are ready-to-use. 

In some instances, you may be able to get away with a less expensive chocolate or even a good quality coating, to make your ganache for instance, much like Lindor from Lindt. This however may be a risky and contentious path to go down as you don’t want to risk damaging your hard-earned reputation. 

A better solution, especially if you’re making solid bars, to cut costs without “shrinkflation” is to introduce inclusions to replace some of the chocolate content. Most inclusions will be cheaper by weight or volume than chocolate so you have a wide choice. Here are some links to Keylink’s range: 

• General Inclusions & Decorations
• Chocolate Inclusions & Decorations
• Fruit Inclusions & Decorations