The company’s 200g gift box was being sold there for $24.99.
It announced prices would be increased across its range of products.
“At Whittaker’s, we’re proud to craft all of our chocolate right here in New Zealand, using the finest ingredients,” the company said on its social media.
“For us, increasing our prices is always a last resort, however, over the past year, the cost of ingredients and operating costs have continued to rise.
“We’ll never compromise on the size or quality of our products so this price increase will enable us to continue bringing you our delicious chocolate made with the very best, ethically sourced ingredients.”
Whittaker's has given no indication of how much the price of its products will increase. Photo / NZME
The announcement comes after Statistics NZ yesterday revealed food prices had increased 4.1% in the 12 months to September.
The average price of milk was 15.1% higher than a year ago. Stats NZ said the 3.9% increase in prices in the grocery food category had driven the overall food price.
Butter prices were 28.9% higher than a year ago and cheese prices rose 31.4%.
The response to Whittaker’s announcement from social media users appeared to be understanding of the cost pressures and appreciative of the company’s commitment to quality and block size.
“I’ll give credit where credit’s due. You are always up front when increasing prices and very clear in not compromising on quality, unlike competitors who slowly reduce their sizing and quality and hope the customer won’t notice. Will always buy Whittaker’s,” one social media user said.
“Consistent quality and transparency means I will always buy your chocolate,” another said.
“Love your chocolate, love that it never shrinks, and the recipe never changes. Happy to support local. We’re loyal to Whittaker’s,” another social media user said.
One person did challenge the company, questioning why the rise when cocoa prices had recently come down from a peak.
“As we buy all of our cocoa and cocoa butter well in advance, on long-term contracts to secure supply, the cocoa beans and cocoa butter that we are using to make our chocolate now were purchased at the higher price point they had reached at the time of order placement,” the company said.
“It’s also important to note that while cocoa prices are no longer at the extreme levels they had reached in early 2024, they have currently stabilised at a much higher price point than they were before the global cocoa crisis impacted supply.”
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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