Why do chocolate bars (expensive ones like Lindt), cost less than the sum of thier ingredients? [closed]
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I am a bit of a mad scientist, experimenting with recipes and generally trying to make my own versions of things at home (ice cream, cold drinks, etc.).
I have long been interested in chocolate. I absolutely love the stuff, and want to try and make some. I realize that (at home) you won't ever make silky smooth "shop bought" chocolate, but the basic idea should still resemble chocolate.
Taking basic ingredients into account, cocoa butter, cocoa powder and usgar, the math just does not work for me. The cost for the amounts that would be yielded, works out to be drastically more per gram than even some of the expensive store bought options. I am not attempting to make chocolate at home to "save money". I am curious and would like to choose my own ingredients.
The math: (in my Currency: ZAR - South African Rand)
- 100g Cocoa Butter : R100
- Cocoa Powder : R50
- Sugar: R10
Lets say the above would yield about 150-200grams of chocolate. Let's call it R160 for 200g home made chocolate.(R80/100grams)
Lindt sells for R40/100grams?
I understand that big industry can buy ingredients cheaper, but by this big a margin. They still have to produce, package and re-sell it through various middlemen to get to R40. What do they actually sell it for before retail and handling... R20? R25?
Other milk chocolate producers obviously add milk, to up the volume with cheaper ingredients, but the math still does not compute for me, as those bars are a fraction of the cost.
What am I missing?
Best Answer
The cost of food, even ingredients, is often dominated not by the cost of production, but by the costs of transport, storage, waste, and sales.
Sugar is a cheap commodity - you pay a typical bulk foodstuff markup compared to what they pay, because essentially everyone buys it, and there are economies of scale at all stages.
Cocoa powder is still common but less so: there's less price pressure (and less competition), so retail profit margins can be higher. There are still economies of scale but less so (e.g. a supermarket will get a box of packs of cocoa powder, but a pallet of sugar, cheaper and easier to handle. Lindt will get it by the truckload, as with sugar. It's also sold by chocolate manufacturers in many cases.
Cocoa butter is a niche product. You can't just go to any supermarket for it, but need a specialist. Margins are high for you - but chocolate manufacturers still benefit from economies of scale.
Chocolate, even decent mass-market chocolate, is on a par with cocoa - popular, but not as major a food as sugar. And it even happens to be close in price to cocoa - partially coincidence of course.
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Why is Lindt expensive?
It's purely expensive buying the single ingredients.? There are some thing you're missing (like fat and milk) There is also order of ingredients. In Lindt the cocoa is said to be 31% of the content (so cocoa powder and butter) but they are third and fourth on the ingredients list. Sugar is first.What makes Lindt so special?
The Roasting Process: The Art of Creating the Perfect Aroma The actual bean mix in each case is a closely guarded manufacturing secret, as the expert blending of the flavors of the individual bean varieties from different regions is what gives Lindt chocolate its special taste.How is Lindt different from other chocolates?
The Finest Cocoa The secret of Lindt's unique taste lies in the careful selection and blending of premium cocoa beans from the world's most exclusive regions of origin. But it is not just high quality standards that play a key role, our sustainable supply chain is equally as important.Why are Lindor so expensive?
Sometimes they're expensive since the chocolate is a high quality brand. They are rich in flavor as well. Usually around holidays they are discounted and not as much money so you're better off just buying them then. Quality ingredients!Taste of various lindt chocolate 70% , 85% , 90% , 100%
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