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Cocoa crunch: How shortages are rewriting chocolate’s future
As climate, disease and regulation strain global cocoa supply, manufacturers are turning to low‑cocoa and cocoa‑free innovations to protect margins and future-proof their portfolios.
Chocolate was strictly reserved for royalty when the Spanish Conquistadores first brought it to Europe in the 16th century. But in the 500 years since, the continent has grown to be a region of devout chocoholics, eating more than anywhere else on Earth.
The US is not far behind and with India and China now getting a taste for chocolate too, cocoa demand is through the roof. But with climate change placing an unprecedented squeeze on supply, a crunch has long loomed large.
It finally hit in 2024 with cocoa prices — which have typically held between $1,000 and $3,000 per tonne — rocketing to a 50-year high of almost $13,000 as climate change, disease, and aging trees resulted in mass crop failure across Ghana and Ivory Coast where most of the world’s cocoa is grown.
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