Yearly, South Africans wander into supermarkets in March and April anticipating a candy little pick-me-up within the type of a foil-wrapped chocolate or marshmallow egg. And yearly, we stare on the price ticket prefer it simply slapped us throughout the face. R80 for a hole egg? Is it full of chocolate or Bitcoin?
So what’s happening right here? Why are Easter eggs simply so costly? Let’s break it down.
1. Chocolate is principally gold now
Cocoa costs have been hopping up sooner than children on a sugar excessive. Unhealthy climate in West Africa (the place a lot of the world’s cocoa comes from) has hit cocoa crops laborious. Much less cocoa means increased costs. Mix that with the price of sugar, milk, and transport going up, and growth – your cute little egg is now a luxurious merchandise.
2. Imported = Inflated
A number of the “fancier” Easter goodies are imported from Europe, the place apparently they infuse the chocolate with the tears of angels or one thing. Import prices, plus duties, plus a weak rand equals to hovering prices.
3. Seasonal = Sneaky
Easter eggs have a brief shelf life – marketing-wise, not in your cabinet (though let’s be trustworthy, they hardly ever final greater than a day). That offers retailers a restricted window to promote them, in order that they bump up the worth whereas demand is excessive. Basic supply-and-demand trickery. It’s like avocados, however shinier.
4. Packaging is doing probably the most
You’re not simply paying for chocolate. You’re paying for the colorful field, the shiny foil, the plastic shell contained in the field, and the sticker on the shell. All of it provides up.
5. The nostalgia tax
Let’s be actual: Easter eggs style higher as a result of they remind us of being children. That magical crack of foil. The odor of candy, milky chocolate. The sugar crash an hour later. Retailers know we’ll pay extra for that hit of nostalgia. It’s emotional pricing. Sneaky, however efficient.
Have you ever purchased Easter eggs this yr?
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