Reporting on coffee, cocoa futures in your future

It’s enough to make Willy Wonka weep. Cocoa prices are soaring, with sugar and coffee futures not far behind. What’s a mocha latte lover to do?

Cocoa is hovering at a 30-year high, according to a week-old report from Bloomberg. Another Bloomberg piece from Monday explains how lower coffee production in markets ranging from South America to Vietnam is affecting supply and boosting global coffee futures.

Sugar prices – which affect the coffee and chocolate product sectors, among countless others – are holding at around 20-year high, thanks also to weather and supply concerns.

With all the partying expected over the next week, does that mean the morning-after cup of Joe is going to be costlier? And will the kiddies be forced to scrimp on their hot chocolate, and marshmallows?

It’s really hard to say, at this time of year, if the commodity price gains are being passed along to consumers. Chocolate in its many forms is a holiday staple and being advertised as a loss leader by just about any food retailer, as are baking and hospitality staples sugar and coffee. But going into the New Year, you’ll want to see if patrons are being pinched in the pocket book. And if you just can’t get around to this now, put it in your tickler file for Valentine’s Day.

Coffee alone is practically its own business beat, considering that Americans down some 400 million cups of the dark brew every day. You should be able to work up an eye-catching biz feature by checking out the local impact on chain and independent coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, catering facilities, vending companies, coffee-hut drive-throughs, doughnut shops, corporate cafeterias – really, is one ever more than 20 feet from a coffee cup these days?

Talk to grocers and discount stores about trends in coffee sales. I was in a store the other day and noticed that the private label was gussied up and looked quite respectable next to the luxury brands, but a lot cheaper.

As always, check for the ripple effect on suppliers, like the cardboard-cup manufacturers and coffee-pot leasing firms. If you’re near a shipping hub or port, check on cargo trends.

Trade groups featuring handy statistics include the International Coffee Association – which includes up-to-the-day price charts on its Web site.

INeedCoffee.Com offers an interesting coffee-economics primer; the Web site’s provenance is unclear, though, so I’d use it mainly as a springboard for ideas and info you can fact-check elsewhere. Same goes for CoffeeResearch.com, which does offer links to several coffee trade groups. CoffeeStatistics.com also features lots of food for thought.

Chocolate, too, is a business story without end. Since mass producers like Nestle and Hershey no doubt hedge their buying, just as airlines do with fuel contracts, I’d focus on the lower end. Any specialty bakers or candy makers headquartered near you? Ice cream shops? Mail-order companies that feature artisan chocolates and specialty coffees? Food mills that make cake mixes or cereal?

The National Confectioners Association, the Fine Chocolate Industry Association and the World Cocoa Association are bursting with factoids and statistics.

Schools aren’t immune either; here’s a Los Angeles Times piece from last month about the pros and cons of serving chocolate milk in schools. Maybe price will do what nutritionists could not?