Dive Brief:

• Chocolate lovers are changing their tastes across the globe -- developing a new affection for darker blends.
• Dark chocolate requires more cocoa beans per ounce than milk chocolate.
• The result is that "feeding frenzy" may be emerging in the cocoa-futures market, which is seeing record numbers of net-long positions (an stance taken when an investor believes prices will rise.)

Dive Insight:

Commodity prices have a way of soaring and sinking in a way that can cause panic among end users. And surely chocolate makers, even those that use hedging strategies to mitigate the risks of cost swings, are a little worried about the state of the cocoa markets. Our sense is that the cocoa shortage and subsequent price rises are part of a long-term shift, rather than simple market fluctuations. Dark chocolate requires more beans. That's a  fact. And dark chocolate is healthier and tastes better than milk chocolate. Consumers won't go back to milk chocolate. So look for continuing price pressures.