Easter is the third busiest holiday for Jacques Torres, Director of the Jacques Torres Chocolate Factory. He employs 25 people who start molding Easter chocolates in the shapes of eggs, bunnies and roosters, long before Valentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day in his 3,716 square meter chocolate factory in Brooklyn, New York
He told the Reuters news agency, “We started producing Easter chocolate before Valentine’s Day. This was very difficult because we had also just finished busy with Christmas and everything. So, before Valentine’s Day, we were already producing chocolate for Easter. Especially this year , Easter is at the end of March. So it’s very early. We have to work more.”
This year, Torres’ team printed logos, sayings and pictures on the chocolates.
To create messages and greetings with 2D or two-dimensional printing, chocolate makers use square and round molds to print white chocolate with food coloring. Their biggest orders come from companies.
Overall, the chocolate factory is estimated to need around four tons of chocolate for Easter celebrations.
But this year’s Easter celebrations come amid skyrocketing cocoa prices. Cocoa prices were at record highs some time ago due to a shortage of supplies, causing market prices to continue to increase.
Torres added, “Cocoa prices are very high. This is very worrying.“
The chocolates produced at the Jacques Toress factory are made with high quality cocoa, different from the type of chocolate used by other factories such as Hershey, Nestle and Mars.
Torres estimates he will also face price increases soon. “So this year, we will not increase the price of chocolate because it takes time between when the price of cocoa rises and it impacts us. But we know, there will be a high price increase in April. All the companies that sell chocolate told us that,” he admitted.
Torres will not increase the price of chocolate for his customers this year. However, one solution to prevent future price increases is to sell more Easter chocolates.
