German Chocolate Santas Contain Substitutes Amid High Cocoa Costs, Consumer Group Finds
Manufacturers are replacing real cocoa butter with cheaper vegetable fats in seasonal products, citing a sharp increase in commodity prices.
Many chocolate Santa Claus figures sold in Germany are being made with cheaper substitutes instead of real chocolate. The Hamburg Consumer Advice Center reported that in numerous cases, manufacturers have replaced genuine chocolate with imitations.
According to the center, some companies have completely substituted cocoa butter with vegetable fats, such as palm oil, in their product coatings. The consumer advice platform Lebensmittelklarheit also found that some manufacturers secretly replaced dark chocolate in muesli with “cocoa drops” diluted with rice extract powder. Manufacturers have stated that the recipes were adjusted due to increased costs.
The changes follow a significant price increase for cocoa in 2024, when the commodity peaked at nearly $12,000 per ton. While the price has since fallen, the benefits have not reached consumers because many chocolate manufacturers’ supply contracts were signed at the higher rates. Approximately 65% of the world’s cocoa beans are sourced from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon.
“Consumers seem to be buying the same product, but often receive lower quality at the same price,” said Armin Valet, a food expert at the Consumer Center. Friedel Hütz-Adams of the non-profit organization Sudwind noted that materials for seasonal Christmas products were purchased when prices were much higher due to long production lead times starting in the summer.
Under European Union regulations, a milk chocolate bar must contain at least 30% raw cocoa. Consumer protection organizations continue to monitor product composition and labeling as manufacturers increasingly turn to cheaper ingredients to manage costs.
