{"id":143708,"date":"2026-03-20T12:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/143708\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T12:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:29:16","slug":"why-lehigh-valley-chocolate-makers-say-your-easter-candy-costs-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/143708\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Lehigh Valley chocolate makers say your Easter candy costs more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cocoa prices finally have started to fall from all-time highs, but Lehigh Valley chocolate makers say it may take some time before customers see prices go down.<\/p>\n

Crop disease, El Nino and market speculation contributed to the spike that began in 2024, as reported by CNBC<\/a>, when cocoa prices began around $4,200 per metric ton and shot to nearly $12,000 per metric ton in December 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Customers] don\u2019t recognize that cocoa is like the gas, going up and down every year,\u201d said Mikael Khallouf, the owner of Choco B in Allentown.<\/p>\n

The price has since decreased to a little over $3,400 per metric ton as of March 11, according to CNBC, but the impact of the high prices still are being felt.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully they don\u2019t spike again because I\u2019ve been doing this about 35 years now and I don\u2019t ever remember cocoa being so high, you know?\u201d said Steve Bussenger, owner of Chocolates on Broadway in Bangor. \u201cIf they would just stabilize between \u2026 even, say, $2,500 to $5,000 per metric ton, that would be good for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barry Dobil Jr., who co-owns Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall and Bethlehem townships, said the company was certainly affected by the spring 2024 price increase. The business wrote the community a letter<\/a> in September 2024, warning about the upcoming price increase due to the cocoa market \u2014 up 9% for primarily its chocolate products, Dobil told The Morning Call, instead of the average 2%-3% yearly increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of options to navigate it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon in the industry for people to dilute the cocoa percentages in their chocolate or to add additives or to thin out the chocolate, things like that. Something that we talked about internally \u2014 and it was, I can say, a very short conversation \u2014 we all agreed that \u2026 we stand here as a fifth-generation business because of our dedication to quality first and foremost. The last thing we were going to do was going to be to mess with that formula, to mess with our chocolate blend, to mess with our raw materials, our ingredients \u2014 any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Josh<\/p>\n

Josh Early Candies co-owners and siblings Amy Barnett and Barry Dobil Jr.\u00a0 hold a pair of customer favorites \u2014 a 17-ounce gold gift box of assorted chocolates and a 1-pound box of peanut rolled eggs, respectively \u2014 Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in the Josh Early Candies retail shop in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Georgia<\/p>\n

Georgia Keim works on the production line making peanut butter cream eggs Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Georgia<\/p>\n

Georgia Keim works on the production line making peanut butter cream eggs Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Josh<\/p>\n

Josh Early Candies\u2019 17-ounce gold gift box of assorted chocolates Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at the store in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Laura<\/p>\n

Laura Ruggiero quickly marks peanut butter cream eggs with a line of chocolate with her gloved fingertip on the production line Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

Vintage photographs of the Early family, including Josh Early V as a child making chocolates, are on display Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Hand-crafted<\/p>\n

Hand-crafted peanut butter cream eggs are ready to be boxed and sold Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Tony<\/p>\n

Tony Rothrock makes chocolate buttercream Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A photograph shows Josh Early V and his wife, Marge, posing in front of their store circa 1984 on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Beth<\/p>\n

Beth Smith, Monca Donati and Victoria Helvig work together on the production line boxing freshly made peanut butter cream eggs Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Laura<\/p>\n

Laura Ruggiero quickly marks peanut butter cream eggs with a line of chocolate with her gloved fingertip on the production line Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Josh<\/p>\n

Josh Early Candies on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s.(April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Hand-crafted<\/p>\n

Hand-crafted peanut butter cream eggs are ready to be boxed and sold Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Josh<\/p>\n

Josh Early Candies\u2019 retail store features a huge variety of handmade chocolates Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Laura<\/p>\n

Laura Ruggiero quickly marks peanut butter cream eggs with a line of chocolate with her gloved fingertip on the production line Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Tony<\/p>\n

Tony Rothrock makes chocolate buttercream Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Beth<\/p>\n

Beth Smith, Monca Donati and Victoria Helvig work together on the production line boxing freshly made peanut butter cream eggs Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Hand-crafted<\/p>\n

Hand-crafted peanut butter cream eggs are ready to be boxed and sold Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Beth<\/p>\n

Beth Smith, Monca Donati and Victoria Helvig work together on the production line boxing freshly made peanut butter cream eggs Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Tony<\/p>\n

Tony Rothrock makes chocolate buttercream Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Josh Early Candies in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 20<\/p>\n

Josh Early Candies co-owners and siblings Amy Barnett and Barry Dobil Jr.\u00a0 hold a pair of customer favorites \u2014 a 17-ounce gold gift box of assorted chocolates and a 1-pound box of peanut rolled eggs, respectively \u2014 Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in the Josh Early Candies retail shop in South Whitehall Township. The fifth-generation family business continues to use the same batch recipes developed in the early 1900s. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Dobil said that after speaking with one of the company\u2019s suppliers, he expects that Josh Early Candies will see some relief this summer or fall if current cocoa prices maintain \u2014 it only increased prices for customers by 3% going into 2026, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of this stuff does take time for it to catch up,\u201d Dobil said, adding that there are other variables to consider like the increasing prices of sugar, labor and electricity.<\/p>\n

Dobil hopes that its prices for next year will be a small increase or no increase at all, but other cocoa price factors like weather and crop disease are difficult to predict.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I knew,\u201d he said of future cocoa prices.<\/p>\n

Brooke Dietrick, the owner of Truffle Bar in Upper Macungie Township, said she\u2019s holding off on a price increase for her goods, even as the chocolate she purchases for her store has become more expensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely feel like prices will need to increase, but I\u2019m not there yet at that point where I want to make the increase,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to see if potentially prices can drop a little. I\u2019m very conscious about not wanting to pass on \u2026 higher prices to my customers, so I\u2019m watching it carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she opened the storefront in 2023, she could get 35 pounds of the chocolate she uses for a little under $200. When she went to purchase the same amount in January to prepare for Valentine\u2019s Day, the price was $412.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely is a huge hit as far as the profit that you\u2019re going to make, if you\u2019re not raising your prices,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When asked about using less expensive alternatives, Dietrick said compliments and positive reviews for the chocolate she uses keep her from changing it, and that she\u2019s still in a place \u201cto kind of keep that profit loss margin where I\u2019m still making money and still benefiting without changing the chocolate. \u2026 If you know what our product is, if I go and change the product, and then you come back into the store and the product is not the same \u2026 as an owner, I feel like I\u2019m kind of failing you. You\u2019re always looking for consistency and if the consistency is not there, then you might not come back again because you\u2019re never going to know what you\u2019re going to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Customers seem to recognize that \u2014 even though Dietrick increased prices when she opened the storefront in 2023 and then again about a year ago, her Valentine\u2019s Day sales were still up from the previous year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with holidays, people are still going to go out there and they\u2019re still going to kind of spend the money on that certain holiday,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For Chocodiem at Easton Public Market, however, the cocoa prices did in part cause sales to go down in 2025, owner Jean-Paul Hepp said, alongside factors like customers\u2019 increased cost of living. he saw chocolates prices he pays go up by 41% that year, and that his prices for customers went up by 20%.<\/p>\n

Rather than diluting the chocolate, however, he said Chocodiem found solutions such as focusing on puddings, mousses and smaller chocolate rabbits for Easter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not an easy game anymore,\u201d Hepp said, adding that he expects cocoa prices to go back up, thanks to labor costs and the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cocoa prices finally have started to fall from all-time highs, but Lehigh Valley chocolate makers say it may…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,60,182,435,436,289,432],"class_list":["post-143708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-business","tag-local-news","tag-restaurants-food-and-drink","tag-retail","tag-things-to-do","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}