Chocolate articles — Vesper Blog

Commodity Hedging for Food Manufacturers: Which Tool for Which Ingredient

Commodity hedging for food companies, tool by tool: which ingredients have futures, when to use forwards or index clauses, and a worked cocoa hedge.

Commodity Price Risk Management for Food Manufacturers: The 2026 Playbook

Commodity price risk management for food manufacturers: real 2026 price swings, a 5-step framework, which ingredients you can hedge and a maturity model.

Forward Buying Strategy: What 3 Years of Butter, Cocoa and Sugar Prices Teach About Layered Cover

A forward buying strategy, backtested on 3 years of butter, cocoa and sugar prices. See what layered cover did to budget misses, plus a cover ladder to copy.

Milk chocolate bar manufacturing costs: where your money really goes

Raw materials are only 68.6% of your milk chocolate bar costs. Learn what makes up the remaining 31.4% and how to use cost models.

Chocolate kruidnoten more expensive than ever: 3 ways to cut costs with cost models

Chocolate kruidnoten prices have exponentially increased due to record cocoa costs end 2024/ start 2025. Here is how bakeries can protect margins.

Interview: Cargill on the next cocoa era, alternatives, and procurement navigating volatility

Cargill has long been one of the most prominent players in the food ingredients industry and a key player in cocoa specifically.

Interview: UK start-up Nukoko founder on the future of cocoa-free chocolate

The cocoa market hit unprecedented levels at the end of last year and has experienced a dramatic decline throughout 2025.

Alternative cocoa solutions: exploring cocoa-free ingredients for sourcing stability

The cocoa market between 2020 and 2025 is best defined by dramatic price surges and extreme volatility, driven by supply shocks.

Why cocoa prices dropped 43%: One of the biggest commodity corrections in 2025

Learn why cocoa prices fell sharply between January and August 2025. Analysis of demand destruction, supply issues, and structural market changes.

Should your brand substitute part of its cocoa butter with shea butter?

Discover how substituting cocoa butter with shea-based CBE affects costs, quality, and margins now that cocoa butter has corrected sharply in 2026.

New Strong Source Podcast with Corinna Olearo, Head of Commodity Research & Price Risk Management at Nestlé on riding the commodity rollercoaster

Discover how Nestlé navigates commodity volatility. Corinna Olearo shares insights on cocoa, coffee, and data-driven procurement strategy.

Chocolate

Commodity Hedging for Food Manufacturers: Which Tool for Which Ingredient

Commodity Price Risk Management for Food Manufacturers: The 2026 Playbook

Forward Buying Strategy: What 3 Years of Butter, Cocoa and Sugar Prices Teach About Layered Cover

Milk chocolate bar manufacturing costs: where your money really goes

Chocolate kruidnoten more expensive than ever: 3 ways to cut costs with cost models

Interview: Cargill on the next cocoa era, alternatives, and procurement navigating volatility

Interview: UK start-up Nukoko founder on the future of cocoa-free chocolate

Alternative cocoa solutions: exploring cocoa-free ingredients for sourcing stability

Why cocoa prices dropped 43%: One of the biggest commodity corrections in 2025

Should your brand substitute part of its cocoa butter with shea butter?

New Strong Source Podcast with Corinna Olearo, Head of Commodity Research & Price Risk Management at Nestlé on riding the commodity rollercoaster

Expanded EU Sugar Price Benchmarks: Now Covering Germany, Netherlands, Poland & Spain

2024 Chocolate Market Turmoil: Cocoa Prices Surge Amid Supply Shortages and Dairy Volatility

Navigating 2024 Confectionery Challenges: Cocoa Surge vs. Sugar Price Drop

Announcing Our New Partnership with CRA: Bringing In-Depth Cocoa Weather Insights to Vesper

Breaking Down the Chocolate Bar: Yearly Ingredient Price Fluctuations

The King of Cocoa: Willem Zimmerman Shares Insights on Commodity Trading

Make smarter commodity decisions