Germany’s chocolate Easter bunny numbers dip as cocoa prices soar #NewsGerman

German confectionery manufacturers produced fewer chocolate Easter bunnies this year than in 2024, their industry association announced on Friday.

Around 228 million chocolate bunnies were made, 5% down on the previous year when there were around 240 million, the German confectionery industry association (BDSI) said.

The reason for the decline is the sharp increase in costs, especially “due to the skyrocketing cocoa prices,” it said.

Almost half of the chocolate bunnies, around 108 million units, are sold in Germany, with the rest exported abroad. According to a representative YouGov survey, 38% of people in Germany intend to give chocolate in the form of Easter bunnies as gifts this year.

Germany’s consumer advice centre has warned against price markups. Chocolate Easter bunnies are between 50 cents and €1.50 more expensive than chocolate bars with the same amount of cocoa.

Easter bunnies from various brands cost two to three times as much as similar products, even though the cocoa content varies only slightly.

However, the BDSI insists that Easter confectionery products place significantly higher demands on product design, personnel deployment, storage and logistics. “A rabbit, chick or lamb made of chocolate cannot be compared with the price of a bar of chocolate in terms of the manufacturing costs,” said a spokeswoman.