Russians warned about price increases for some sweets

American confectionery brands Mondelēz and Mars have warned partners about an increase in shipping prices from February-March 2025. The Izvestia newspaper, citing sources, reports about the rise in prices for some sweets.

American confectionery manufacturers are planning to raise prices on Mars, Snickers, Milky Way and Bounty chocolates by 16-19 percent, Korkunov candies by 11-19 percent, Alpen Gold chocolate, Oreo cookies, 7 Days croissants and Barney cakes by 5-15 percent. The reason is said to be the rise in exchange prices for raw materials - cocoa beans and butter. The increase should take place in two stages: from February 20 and from March 24.

“We are facing unprecedented increases in costs and production costs due to record high exchange prices for cocoa beans and cocoa products, as well as rising prices of other ingredients, rising logistics and operating costs, plus rising packaging costs and currency volatility,” explained representatives of the suppliers.

In addition, Mondelēz will increase the prices of Alpen Gold, Milka and Vozdushny sweets by 14.9 percent from April 1. In addition, the Oreo, Barney, TUC, Yubileynoye and BelVita brands will increase in price by 6-9 percent. Pastries, such as 7 Days croissants, will increase in price by 5-9 percent. The company explains the increase in cost by the increase in butter prices by 26-40 percent and cocoa prices by 39 percent over the past year. The Russian office promised that the wholesale prices will be raised in stages so as not to shock the consumer.

From January to October 2024, chocolate production in Russia increased to 877 thousand tons, or by 9.2 percent. According to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture , the reasons for this dynamic were stable demand in the domestic market and a decrease in confectionery imports, as well as an increase in export volumes.

According to the Rusprodsoyuz Association, average prices for chocolate in 2024 increased by 22.7 percent, to a level of 1,260 rubles per kilogram. Experts attribute the price increase to the rise in the price of cocoa beans. However, sales of products that are noticeably more expensive are falling, noted Vitaly Muravyov, president of the Pobeda confectionery factory. Due to the increase in the cost of producing sweets, manufacturers have begun to raise selling prices for their products by an average of 10-20 percent and replace ingredients with cheaper ones.