Chocolate companies - Hershey & Mondelez - face slowing demand amid rising prices
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Data from major chocolate companies across the world indicate that consumers are reducing their chocolate intake amid the cost of living crises in Europe and U.S.
"Overall U.S. chocolate retail sales volumes have been off and down 2% to 3% over the last couple of months as prices have risen in the high single-digit, low double-digit range," Hershey (NYSE:HSY) VP, Investor Relations Melissa Poole commented as cited by Reuters.

The company also expects a reduction in its volume as they move through the year with a soft demand.
Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ), which makes Cadbury and Milka chocolate, has also made the decision to slightly reduce the weight of certain products, company spokesperson Tracey Noe commented in an email cited by Reuters.
Chocolate companies are now seeing some consumer behavior change with shoppers choosing individual candy bars at the register instead of multipacks.
Chicago-based market researcher IRI indicates that the volume sold of chocolate products in U.S. dropped 1.5% Y/Y in the 13 weeks ended June 12 as prices soared 8.2%.
Data also shows sales volumes of U.S. store-brand or private-label chocolate, a minor part of the overall market that is cheaper than name-brand chocolate, grew by 8% in the last six months.
A Dark Chocolate Market Research Report 2022 shows that Dark Chocolate Market is valued at ~$43,620M and is expected to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 6.2% CAGR; it is seen touching $62,430M over the forecast period 2022-2026, as cited by MarketWatch.