CHOC SHOCK
Cadbury Dairy Milk price rockets 12% in just one month as chocolate maker says move is a ‘last resort’
A cocoa shortage in Ghana and the Ivory Coast has made some retailers rethink its pricing strategy
PRICES for Cadbury's flagship chocolate bar have soared by a staggering 12 per cent in the last month.
Dairy Milk's price hike follows a shortage of the cocoa crop in West Africa.
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The base price of the chocolate shot up by 12.1 per cent according to data collated by The Grocer, using their Key Value Items (KVI) tracker.
In Sainsbury's the price for a 110g bar rose from £.165 to £1.85 - working out at exactly 12.1 per cent higher.
The same sized chocolate bar is now setting back shoppers 10% more in Asda at £1.65 rather than £1.50.
But Waitrose customers will only be paying 5.7 pr cent more than before on their £1.85 bar as the Dairy Milk 110g bar was previously sold at £1.75.
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Aldi doesn't stock Dairy Milk in 110g but the price of their 95g bar is still £1.29.
And retailers Morrisons and Tesco have maintained the price of the 110g bar at £.165 and £1.49 respectively.
A Cadbury spokeswoman confirmed the price hikes were made as "a last resort".
She said the brand is "continuing to experience significantly higher input costs".
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She cited cocoa and sugar as "costing far more than they have done previously".
Meanwhile Waitrose said they are "working hard with our suppliers to keep prices down".
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The Grocer also reached out to Asda and Tesco for comment but not yet heard back.
Aldi and Sainsbury’s declined to comment.
It's worth noting that supermarkets set prices at their own discretion and can choose whether to pass price rises on to shoppers or not.
Cocoa crops in Ghana and the Ivory Coast are suffering shortages.
This has led to prices tripling in the first quarter of the year.
Chocolate companies buy their cocoa up to a year before they manufacture and sell their products.
This means it's likely that consumers will see further price increases in chocolate products within the next few months.
Lindt and Tony's Chocolonely also confirmed to The Grocer that they will charge more for their items to counteract the rising cost of cocoa.
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The Grocer also reported that Mars Wrigley has decreased its iconic Celebrations tubs by 50g ahead of Christmas 2025 to offset the "rising costs of raw materials and operations".
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