Are those chocolate Santas the real deal? Volatile cocoa prices, which scaled twin peaks in the past two years, have sent chocolate makers scurrying to find more economic substitutes. Food behemoth Nestlé has relabelled its not-so-chocolatey Toffee Crisps and Blue Ribands; McVitie’s’ Club and Penguin biscuits have been downgraded from chocolate to “chocolate flavoured” in recognition of their reduced cocoa content.
The irony is that cocoa prices, hovering at about $6,000 to $7,000, have not been this low in two years. High prices did what high prices do: dent demand. Chocolatiers got clever with shea butter and oils, and consumers dropped fewer bars in their shopping baskets. Rallies this year and last made chocolate three times pricier within four months, reckons cocoa processor Barry Callebaut.
