MUMBAI: Not just pure play chocolate makers but dairy giant Amul, ice-cream brand Baskin Robbins, even snacking and cereal brand Kellanova, and other companies across the spectrum are beginning to feel the pinch of higher
cocoa prices
.
Amul is looking to hike the price of its chocolates by 10-20%, Jayen Mehta, MD at Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the brand, told TOI.
"The price of a kilogram of
cocoa beans
has shot up to Rs 800 in India from Rs 150-250 earlier. The pressure is real. We have the largest market share in the dark chocolate space which uses cocoa butter as a major ingredient," he said, adding that the increase will be implemented in around two months' time.
While Amul is holding the price for
ice creams
and beverages for the moment, it does not see higher prices of chocolates denting its market share, with Mehta arguing that their products are competitively priced. "In products such as ice creams, which are seasonal, it's not very easy to raise prices," he said.
US ice cream brand Baskin Robbins is also planning to hold prices. Prices of many cocoa-based ingredients are up by 70-80% compared to earlier, said Mohit Khattar, CEO at Graviss Foods, which holds the master franchise rights of Baskin Robbins in India. "As of now, we have decided to absorb the incremental costs due to increased input costs, leaving consumer prices untouched... We will reassess the situation once the season is over and take a call on further course of action. We still anticipate good sales this summer," Khattar said.
Havmor Ice Cream - which has already taken a small
price hike
at the start of the year in line with inflation - will try to hold on to its current level of pricing. "A price increase is the last resort in categories which are sensitive to pricing and ice cream is one such category. We will look for other ways to mitigate the impact of the rise in cocoa prices. We had predicted such a scenario and in Q4 of last year, did a long-term pricing contract which will sail us through this season (March-June)," said Komal Anand, managing director at Havmor, which sources cocoa from parts of India and Africa.
English (US) ·