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Valentine’s Day sticker shock: Chocolate prices are spiking
U.S. retail chocolate prices rose 14% year-over-year due to a 67% cocoa crop loss in West Africa, impacting Valentine’s Day shoppers with uneven price increases nationwide.
- On Feb. 12, 2026, Datasembly reported U.S. retail chocolate prices increased 14.4% year-over-year in the January 1–early February window.
- Severe West African supply shocks caused a 67% crop loss in six countries, pushing cocoa futures above $12,600 amid West Africa's 70% share of global supply.
- Retail inventory dynamics indicate Datasembly found city-level jumps — 17% in Denver and Los Angeles and 19% in Dallas‑Fort Worth — while U.S. retailers sell inventory made from crisis-level cocoa prices.
- U.S. chocolate shoppers face sticker shock as the National Confectioners Association reports about 75% of candy sales are chocolate, and the National Retail Federation estimates $2.6 billion will be spent this Valentine’s Day.
- Wholesale prices have eased as global wholesale cocoa fell to $5,018 per metric ton in January from $10,710 in January 2025, but analysts warn retail relief will be slow and uneven until Easter.
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Chocolates for Valentine's Day rose to 14.4% in 2026. We explain why they are more expensive and when they could lower their prices.
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Valentine's Day shoppers face soaring chocolate prices
Heart shaped boxes of chocolate are displayed for sale in Key West. (Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — Valentine’s Day shoppers may feel jilted by runaway chocolate prices. Chocolate prices soared 14.4% over the initial weeks of 2026 when compared to the same period a year earlier, nearly doubling the pace of price increases at the start of 2025, according to findings shared with ABC News by intelligence firm Dat…
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Total News Sources47
Leaning Left4Leaning Right1Center31Last UpdatedBias Distribution86% Center
Bias Distribution
- 86% of the sources are Center
86% Center
11%
C 86%
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