Easter Egg Inflation: Why Your Chocolate Friends Cost More This Year
It’s that time of year when your pantry greets you with an astounding display of colorful, tiny chocolate eggs. But if you’ve ever bought Lindt’s Hen Mini Eggs, M&S Orange Speckled or Cadbury Mini Eggs in the past, you’ll notice the price tag is giving you a headache.
Price Surge Highlights of the Year
- Lindt Hen Mini Eggs – +46% rise since 2023
- M&S Orange Speckled Eggs – +40% rise in 2024
- Cadbury Mini Eggs – now £13.47 per kilogram, a +21% jump from last year
So what’s driving this egg-cellent inflation? According to Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo, cocoa prices did fall a bit recently, but the timing is all wrong.
Timing: The Price Ticking Mechanism
- When the sugar‑sweet sticker‑up price of cocoa hovered around £10,000 per ton a year ago—think 2023—it wasn’t due to market pressures but to natural cocoa growing conditions.
- Fast forward to March 2024, the price hovered around £6,700, making the market “moderate” according to the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
- However, beans got bought months prior to this dip, so the current market slack doesn’t translate into lower chocolate costs.
In simple words: the producers had already locked in their chocolate supply at high prices, so that wind‑down doesn’t affect the final retail price.
Will the Egg Prices Finally Crack Open?
Oh, the hope springs eternal! Ole Hansen hints that by next Easter, producers might finally negotiate better rates and reduce the retail cost.
Expect:
- A slightly steeper demand curve, meaning chocolate manufacturers could tack on less whitespace into the product’s price.
- Perhaps a cheerful discount or two as they try to sweeten the deal for consumers.
Until then, your Easter basket may look a bit heavier than last year, but hey—at least it’s still sweet! Let’s keep an eye on whether manufacturers will pass the cheaper cocoa on to you or keep the extra yummyness locked in to boost profits. Thank you for staying tuned—here’s to a chocolate‑filled, budget‑savvy Easter!
