Why the chocolate in your holiday candy could be ‘fake’ this year

If you’re unwrapping chocolate this holiday season, it might not contain any actual cocoa.

Market turbulence, ethical concerns and sustainability questions have sparked a movement among some chocolate makers to scrap cocoa in favor of alternative ingredients — prompting calls that the real deal could soon become a “luxury” for consumers.  

Poor agricultural conditions in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire — the world’s leading cocoa producers — have damaged crop yields in recent years, sending cocoa prices on a rollercoaster ride. After surging to all-time highs of more than $12,000 toward the end of last year, cocoa futures have tumbled more than 50% over the course of 2025 amid tentative signs of crop recovery.

Price volatility has left businesses in the industry on edge, and it’s ultimately found its way into consumer goods, with data from Circana and the U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics showing chocolate prices surged 30% in the year to October.

In its third-quarter earnings report, Mondelez International — the maker of Cadbury, Milka and Toblerone — flagged “volatility of cocoa” and its “ability to effectively hedge against” related cost pressures as potential problems that could derail the company from meeting its financial targets.

As manufacturers grapple with that unpredictability, some are opting to reduce their exposure to the cocoa market by shaking up their ingredient mix.

Earlier this year, a change to the composition of McVitie’s Club and Penguin candy bars made waves in the U.K., when it was reported that the products could no longer be referred to as chocolate. Both products must now be labeled “chocolate flavored,” after parent company Pladis cut the cocoa content in a bid to reduce costs.

Sabatini pointed to the recent Dubai chocolate trend to illustrate his point, noting that some of these chocolate bars were selling for as much as 80 euros ($93.09) per kilogram.

“[The chocolate…