Amid the global shortage of cocoa, Indian chocolate and pastry makers have resorted to price increases, shrinking quantity, local sourcing and use of carob powder.
The dip in cocoa production in Ghana and Ivory Coast has led to the global cocoa shortage resulting in the creation of immense pressure among chocolate makers. Companies are taking up to 10 per cent increase in prices.
“To mitigate the impact of rising cocoa prices, we adopted a diverse approach. This includes a modest price adjustment of approximately 8-10 per cent. A comprehensive review of packaging and supply chain expenditures was undertaken to identify cost-saving opportunities. To maintain the growth trajectory and diversify the product portfolio, we accelerated the launch of a new snacking chocolate line, a key component of the 2024-25 product roadmap,” said Vimal Sharma, Founder-Director and CEO of SMOOR.
Chocolate makers are now sourcing locally-produced cocoa.
Anshi co-founder of Colocal said, “In India, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh produce most of the country’s cacao. Colocal sources single-origin beans from Kerala’s Idukki. It takes about 5 years for a cacao seed to start bearing fruit, so the replantation rate is very low. A lot of brands are also incorporating other ingredients to compensate for the cost. However, at Colocal we’ve decided not to shift gears. We are still producing 1.5 tonnes of chocolate every month.”
Chocolate baked goods
Due to an increase in cocoa prices, small bakery owners and home chefs are shutting down their businesses.
Birdy’s Bakery’s Managing Director, Srinidhi Rao said, “The India chocolate market was growing with a rise of lifestyle choices of the middle class. New products and innovations were introduced. This has reduced drastically. Single owners opened a small cake shop and made and sold cakes from that premises. Home bakers proliferated. A number of these have had to shut down. Birdy’s have worked with multinational companies to develop ready-made chocolate solutions to replace the base products that they used to make themselves.”
Bakeries are shifting their focus from non-chocolate desserts and increasing their focus on fruit-based products.
“India being relatively new to the chocolate market as a manufacturer of cocoa beans is struggling with price rise. Multinational brands are increasing their prices by an exuberant 20-30 per cent for the final product to balance with the cost of cocoa and are planning to increase further by making chocolate not so affordable. As pastry chefs, we plan to take this scarcity as an opportunity to experiment with new flavours or use alternative ingredients, said Chef Sehaj Ghuman, Pastry Chef and Instructor at the Academy Of Pastry and Culinary Arts, India.
“There is a reduction in chocolate-based desserts in our menu and have consciously promoted non-chocolate desserts like fruit-based products or other desserts that have low or no chocolate dependence. The prices are going to go up more if the upcoming cocoa production gets hit again with bacteria and crops get damaged,” said Rahul Seth, Founder and Owner of Patisserie’22.