Chocolate sales surge amid pandemic 

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Local chocolate shops are celebrating Valentine’s day like no other. During their busiest time of year, they’re dealing with supply chain disruptions and soaring prices.

The Chocolate Season, near 40th and Old Cheney, has graced the city of Lincoln for over two years with their specialty chocolates and creme-dipped cookies, but the locally-owned shop has worked overtime lately to keep up with soaring chocolate prices.

“With everybody emotionally eating, which I’m totally here for, that has really driven the price of chocolate up because the demand is really, really high right now,” Erika Jensen, the owner said.

Between 2020 and 2021, the price of their specialty Valrhona chocolate has gone up anywhere between 7-25% depending on the specific kind.

The shop would have to sell about 16,000 extra truffles to make up for the loss that they experienced in 2021. And because of that, they have had to make some changes to their own menu prices.

“There are a few products that have had anywhere from five to seven percent increase and that was because I seriously couldn’t float it and I really tried to for a while. But the brownies went up 20 cents, a couple of the lattes went up 25 cents, the box of chocolates went up $1 dollar,” Jensen said.

But it’s not just the cost that’s affecting this sweet spot, supply chain disruptions have the business scrambling some days. The product comes directly from France and what used to take maybe a five-day turnaround, has sometimes become three weeks.

“As well as the fact that cacao trees take about seven years to produce fruit, if we run out, it’s not like we can just go get some more,” Jensen said. 

Jensen says supply chain issues have been character-building, but that’s not going to stop them from serving up their seven thousand pounds of specialty chocolate every year.

“And just with the price of chocolate, don’t let that stop you from treating yourself,” Jensen said.