Is Chocolate Still Recession Proof?

For many years, I worked with chocolate every day in restaurant pastry kitchens where I created daily desserts. After a stint at Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker in its early days in Berkeley, I learned more about sourcing beans and every step of the chocolate-making process. As a trend forecaster for WSGN during the pandemic, I became aware of the major challenges facing the chocolate industry: climate change wreaking havoc on cacao plantations, issues with child labor, reduced harvests.

I explore where the industry and chocolate makers, small and large, are today. Cacao bean prices have increased tremendously recently, forcing manufacturers to adopt new practices, reducing the amount of chocolate in confections, shrinking product sizes, and eliminating the priciest products.

Learn more about how craft chocolate makers Askinoisie Chocolate, Christopher Elbow Chocolates, and Susana Cárdenas are managing their product production and how retailers, including Oakland’s Market Hall Foods, are gearing up for shifts. Will consumers stay loyal customers and support their favorite brands, or are we nearing a breaking point? Read on to discover what I learned while reporting this article for The Chocolate Professor: Is Chocolate Still Recession Proof?