17-04-2025
Oklahoma chocolate lovers could pay more this Easter
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Chocolate lovers can expect a higher price tag this Easter.
Oklahoma shops say they're feeling the impacts.
In downtown Guthrie, Rick's Fine Chocolates and Coffees has been a sweet staple for nearly two decades, but owner Stacy Gilliland says the past year has been one of the toughest yet.
'It was roughly around $150 before and now it's close to $400 a box,' said Gilliland.
A shortage of cocoa beans is driving up the cost to make chocolate. Global crop failures due to increasingly hotter climate in West Africa is a key reason.
It's forcing businesses here in Oklahoma to make some tough decisions.
'I've had to cut back on payroll, I've had to cut back on hours, I've had to cut back on staffing, I used to have 14 people, now I have five,' said Gilliland.
The price for consumers has also gone up. Around Christmas, Gilliland was charging around $25 a pound, now it's a little over $32.
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Zero Tolerance Coffee and Siyo Chocolate in the metro says they're also feeling the effects, but in a slightly different way.'We're actually a bean to bar craft chocolate maker, so we buy sacks of cocoa from equatorial countries around the world,' said Maura Baker, owner and operator, Zero Tolerance Coffee and Siyo Chocolate.
Baker says the cost of raw materials have tripled.
Global shipping has also become an issue.
'The crisis in the Middle East with the Houthis and all that, we can't get the cocoa and coffee from Uganda up through the straits and over to the United States as easily, and then with the Panama Canal as well,' said not just the local shops, big brands are having to get creative.
'They shrink the packaging, they shrink the sizes or they use less of the the expensive item and they use more of a non-expensive item, so you might see less chocolate in an item and more of something else,' said tariffs are a new topic of concern, both shops say they haven't made an impact now, it's all about making their customers happy for Easter.
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