HANOVER — In the 11 years Ana Paula Fernandes has operated Brazilian bakery My Brigadeiro on South Main Street, her signature truffles have cost $1.98 apiece.

Now a recent spike in the cost of chocolate might force her to break that streak.

“I feel, unfortunately, now I’m going to have to raise my prices a bit,” she said in a Thursday phone interview.

My Brigadeiro is among several Upper Valley businesses feeling the sting of cocoa prices, which have been rising steadily in the past year since above-average rainfall and warming temperatures during the 2022-2023 growing season damaged crops in West Africa, the Washington Post reported in February. The region is responsible for 60 to 70% of the world’s cocoa production.

Companies such as Hershey and Mondelez International, which owns the Toblerone and Cadbury brands, have reported record-high cocoa costs that they’ve largely passed on to consumers, the Associated Press reported last year.

Upper Valley businesses that purchase wholesale cocoa products have seen their costs climb over the past year and they’ve had to make some difficult choices about how much to pass on to their customers.

A little over a year ago, Mike McCabe, who owns Red Kite Candy with his wife, Elaine, was paying $250 for a case of dark chocolate from the Belgian brand Callebaut, which he sources from a distributor in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. By Christmastime, the same product was priced at $470.

Fernandes reported a similar spike. In the past couple months, her usual wholesale order of 22 pounds of chocolate has shot up over 60%, landing at $500 a case.

Red Kite, which operates a brick and mortar location in Hanover, mainly produces artisanal caramels; chocolate makes up only 25% of their ingredients, but that number might be rising. “(We’re) starting to focus on candy bars, so we’re starting to use more chocolate,” McCabe said.

The store also sells ice cream, including chocolate flavors, which is made in-house.

McCabe said he plans to raise prices, though by how much he isn’t sure yet. But regardless of how wholesale costs continue to climb, Red Kite’s recipes will stay the same. “The price will be what it is,” McCabe said.

Elsewhere in the Upper Valley, Katie’s Cookies, a bakery in downtown Lebanon, and Amore di Mona, a vegan chocolate maker in Claremont, have already had to raise their prices because of climbing costs.

For a brief three week stint in early fall, Katie’s Cookies was unable to source Nestle chocolate chips, which they use in a handful of their products.

“When they came back, it was double the price,” said owner Katie Boardman.

In early April, the business posted on social media that it would be raising cookie prices by 7% due to a 217% price increase in cocoa and a 250% price increase in chocolate chips since the store opened in 2023.

“One of our goals is to be an affordable place for families to go,” Boardman said. “I think if we need to cut back on chocolate cookies, we will, but I really don’t want to increase prices more than I have.”

Amore di Mona owner Mona Changaris is scrambling to deal with a shortage of her own.

Three months after placing an order, Changaris still hasn’t received her annual 2,000-pound pallet of cocoa butter, which was quoted at a 176% mark-up from last year.

“We’ll make it through the (spring) season, but we’re scurrying all over the place,” she said.

Like Boardman, the chocolatier recently raised her prices.

At $29, a 16-piece box of chocolate now retails 16% higher than the previous sticker price.

Despite the higher prices, Boardman and Changaris haven’t noticed a dip in sales.

“If anything, people have been really supportive,” Boardman said. 

Two customers, Lebanon resident Sam Wortz and her father, Floyd Reno, aren’t deterred by the new price.

The pair have come in every day this week while Reno is in town visiting Wortz. 

“We’re still going to come here because the cookies are really good," Wortz said. 

Marion Umpleby can be reached at mumpleby@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.