“It’s abused,” protests Isabelle, looking at the prices of chocolate bunnies in the supermarket. “I take the second rabbit only because it goes minus 30%,” adds the 50-year-old woman, as Easter approaches. “Usually, I get 40 euros and this year, I spent 70… One wonders where this increase comes from? “, fulminates on his side Jean-Pierre.
Due to inflation, the price of chocolate has increased by 10% compared to March 2022, according to figures from the NielsenIQ Institute reported by France Info. An increase that is part of global inflation, food prices having increased by 15.8% in one year in March 2023, according to INSEE. Does this increase force some French people to reduce their budget for Easter, the second most important holiday for the chocolate market after Christmas? They talk to 20 minutes.
“No budget, so zero purchases”
For some, this crisis in purchasing power is final. “No chocolate for my grandchildren this year,” regrets Marie-Françoise because of her small retirement. “No budget, so zero purchases” maintains Nicolas, 28 years old. For Aurélie, quarantine, “it will be less than 5 euros per child”. She planned to offer them small rabbits. “It’s the gesture that counts,” says this mother, who had to reduce her expenses.
Instead of chocolates, Diane bet on toys, which she finds “surprisingly cheaper”. Marianne has planned to celebrate Easter… after Easter: “No choice with inflation, I will wait for the destocking of stores”.
“My grandchildren don’t care whether it’s the brand or not”
Others still want to enjoy the egg hunt…by making small adaptations. “Normally, I’m not allowed to eat it, but I like it too much,” confides Sylvie, a diabetic, while adding chocolate cherries to her trolley. Faced with the prices in the craft shops, the septuagenarian opted for the supermarket. “In chocolate shops, you can find a small egg for 25 euros. It’s too expensive “. Yveline, 64, plans to use the benefits of her loyalty card to please her grandchildren. “I have 80 euros in my kitty… which I use reasonably for the youngest,” she says.
And for Ingrid, a hard-discount follower, “the egg hunt is sacred. We bought from Aldi and that’s it… My grandchildren don’t care whether it’s the brand or not”. But this choice is sometimes made reluctantly. “It’s really not good,” says Léa, 35, who “for lack of salary” buys lower quality chocolates to “give a little magic” to her children.
“Better to take little, but good”
Finally, conversely, there is the option of betting on quality at the expense of quantity. “Better to take little, but good, rather than industrial preparations stuffed with sugar and various additives and which in the end are expensive compared to the quality of the product”, assures Thomas.
Nana, 35, plans to offer two chocolates, carefully chosen from her pastry chef, to her 10-year-old child. “Price level, it’s more expensive than in supermarkets… But 17 euros for a Kinder maxi-egg, my choice is made”