2024-04-25 07:20:57 ET
Summary
- As a self-proclaimed dark chocolate lover, the bitter stuff with 70+% cocoa content, I've recently observed some strange goings-on during my recent dark chocolate bar purchases.
- A recent explosion of independent dark chocolate brands may have contributed greatly to cocoa bean demand.
- I've noticed a recent "blow out" sale due to some discontinued dark chocolate bars at local grocery chains, indicating difficulty in the chocolate industry, especially amongst "fair trade", organic brands.
- With some sources claiming big name milk chocolate makers like Hershey use just enough cocoa solids per bar to meet US standards for "chocolate", dark chocolate producers may have put themselves in a box, needing several times the cocoa solids per bar as a Hershey or Nestlé.
- Difficulty in the dark chocolate segment may be foretelling of a cocoa market top.
Observation of a dark chocolate lover
As a proud owner of Hershey's ( HSY ) stock, having last covered it in December 2023 , I deal with the question daily in the back of my head, when will the cocoa market crash? As a self-proclaimed dark chocolate lover, the bitter stuff with 70+% cocoa content, I've recently observed some strange goings-on during my recent dark chocolate bar purchases. Our local Raley's and Safeway grocery stores are blowing out several brands of "indy" private label dark chocolate.
I admit that I am not extremely familiar with these brands and often just buy the best deals. They all present themselves in the same way, "independently owned", "fair trade" and "organic". In a world of high cocoa prices, the first thing that comes to my head is low-profit margins, maybe negative right now. Most of these bars cost $5-$6 a bar. However, the aforementioned grocery stores now have many of these brands labeled as discontinued and I even bought multiple bars recently for under $2 each! ...
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For further details see:
Hershey: My 'Dark' Hypothesis On The Cocoa Market Boom (Rating Upgrade)