“No one week is the same, and you really have to shop around.
“Their prices are fluctuating every week, and some supermarkets sell some flavours and some sell the other ones, but they don’t all sell all the flavours.
“Sometimes you are buying the higher-priced chocolate just to get the flavours that you need to do what we are baking.”
On average, she uses 150 to 160 Whittaker’s blocks a week. She also buys Oreo, M&M’s, Ferrero Rocher and Cadbury chocolate.
“There is nothing we can substitute ... and it definitely tightens the gap between profits.”
A good sale is a chance to buy enough to ensure the chocolate lasts until the next time a deal is available, which is always uncertain.
“There is only so much money you can spend a week with cash flow.”
When Hawke’s Bay Today checked the online chocolate prices of Hastings supermarkets on Friday, a 250g Whittaker’s Creamy Milk 33% Cocoa Milk Chocolate Block was being sold at Pak’nSave for $7.09, while Woolworths and New World were selling it for $8.49, or $7.49 for those signed up as a Woolworths member.
A recent price hike in Whittaker’s was reported by the New Zealand Herald on October 16.
Whittaker’s attributed the rise to ingredient costs.
Booth fears that, if the rise continues, chocolate will become a luxury and not a treat.
“I still want people to come into the shop and treat themselves every week, so we don’t add on that cost too high.”
Whittaker’s said on Thursday that the decision to increase prices was never taken lightly.
“Like everyone else, Whittaker’s is facing ongoing cost increases (both in terms of our ingredients and other operating costs) that we cannot continue to absorb indefinitely without compromising our commitments to quality and ethical sourcing.”
Retailers set their own prices for Whittaker’s chocolate based on their recommended retail price (RRP).
“Sometimes they choose to offer them at discounted prices, so we encourage chocolate lovers to shop around.”
Foodstuffs said its chocolate prices were set by the market and by the wholesale prices it paid suppliers.
“Around 68 cents of every dollar spent in our stores goes straight to the supplier. ”
It said prices were reviewed every week, and specials were run whenever possible to stay competitive and offer good value.
Woolworths said its pricing and promotions were commercially sensitive.
“We do acknowledge the cost of global commodity pricing on cocoa has been evident across all chocolate suppliers over the last 15 months.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
