Wedel Price Rise & Sales: Maciej Herman on Chocolate Market Trends

Eryk Kielak (Gazeta.pl): Wedel has been on the market since 1851. For a year you can visit the Museum of the Chocolate E.Wedel Fabryka. Since then, this place has been visited by over 350,000 people. This is undoubtedly a attendance success. Is the museum also a financial success?

Maciej Herman, managing director of the Wedel company: From the beginning, we assumed that our museum would operate in a financial neutral model: it did not bring losses, but also did not focus on earning. We are guided by two main assumptions.

First, social aspect. We wanted to create an attractive place on the right side of the Vistula, where there are still few cultural and educational institutions. Our idea was to create a space that combines educational and entertainment functions, and at the same time carries a positive message – after all, chocolate is naturally associated with something pleasant. The museum is also a place where we want to achieve our higher goal – to bring value to society through education, spending time together, which strengthens interpersonal relationships and supporting culture.

Secondly, marketing dimension. The museum builds experience around the brand. We want both Polish and Poles as well as foreign tourists to have the opportunity to meet with a unique form. Millions of guests visit Warsaw every year and we want them to come to us too. During a visit to the museum, they can feel the atmosphere of a place, make friends with our brand, the heritage of the Wedel family and become its ambassadors, because the E.Wedel brand is undoubtedly a reason for Polish pride.

The museum is not to be a profit -oriented project. His role is self -financing and brand promotion. However, our key, basic business remains the sale of Wedel products and the activities of the E.Wedel chocolate pump room, which operate in a classic business model.

Despite the problems of the chocolate sweets industry, after five months of 2025, the value of domestic net sales of the Wedel company increased by over 20 percent. compared to the same period of last year. The museum fueled sales?

Certainly the museum is one of the important elements that contributed to our success in a very significant way. The E.Wedel Chocolate Factory Museum adds the image value of the E. Wedel brand, which can create positive associations with the Wedel world in the long term and influence consumer choices. It should be emphasized, however, that current successes are the result of the work of the entire organization: commercial, sales, marketing, promotion and production, as well as all support teams. This is the effort of over 1,200 people who work for this result every day. The fact that we are doing so well this year is primarily due to the fact that our team works efficiently and effectively. It is worth remembering that the whole chocolate category in Poland has noted a decrease by over 5 percent this year, mainly due to the drastic increases in cocoa prices – a key ingredient for our category. Against this background, our sales increased by about 5 percent. volume, which is really a big achievement.

The increase in cocoa prices also affects the final price of the product. According to Eurostat‘s data, it was in Poland for the last year chocolate has become the most powerful – by as much as 39.1 percent. Wedel plans to raise prices?

Like the whole industry, we introduced increases at the beginning of the year. At the same time, virtually all manufacturers decided to take a similar step. Currently, the price of cocoa is in the range of 5000 – 5300 pounds per ton (on the London Stock Exchange), with typical short -term fluctuations. However, you cannot talk about full stabilization. In the last two years we have observed sudden increases in quotations, which exceeded up to 10,000 pounds per ton. For comparison, for the previous two decades the market remained relatively stable, and the average price oscillated around 1800 pounds. Today’s level is therefore more than three times higher than historical standards.

Price perspectives remain fraught with great uncertainty. The inheritance scenario seems unlikely, primarily due to structural factors: climate change limiting supply, as well as Ghana’s policy and ivory coast – the largest cocoa producers. In the current realities, it is more realistic to persist in the range of 5-5.5 thousand. pounds as a ton, which the market could be considered a relatively stable level.

So there will be no increases?

If the current level of cocoa prices persists, subsequent increases should not be so severe, like those introduced at the beginning of the year. The expected price changes would rather be moderate – a few percent of the order – and would result mainly from standard macroeconomic factors: rising labor costs, minimum wage increases or inflation. Therefore, these would be predictable increases associated with natural economic processes, not a consequence of sudden raw material price jumps.

Maybe downsizing? Are you planning to slim down your products a bit, e.g. Bird Mleczko®? The last time reduced the weight in 2023 from the existing 360 to 340 grams.

We are currently not planning changes in this area. In the case of bird foams, Mleczko® the situation is specific – we are not talking only about cocoa prices, but also other key raw materials, i.e. milk, butter or sugar, as well as packaging, whose prices in recent years are unstable.

In 2023, the situation on the market has set us up before the need to look for various forms of savings. We wanted not to interfere in the high quality and iconic taste of our foams, which is why we finally decided to slightly reduce the weight of the product. However, the taste and number of foams in the packaging remained unchanged. Maintaining the then weight of the time would mean a severe price increase for the consumer.

Bird Mleczko® is a classic, but during a visit to the museum I was offered chocolates with very unusual flavors. I ate pear and mirabelle chocolate. These are quite bold flavors. Their production really pays off?

Unusual taste combinations in our novelties are perfect. First of all, sweets are bought primarily for pleasure – not only sensory, resulting from taste, but also psychological, related to the element of surprise, surprise. Similarly to opening a gift, consumers derive satisfaction from discovering what is hidden “inside”.

In the case of new flavors or additives in sweets, the same curiosity is released: consumers think “I don’t know it, interesting how it tastes like”. This sense of discovery is an important factor that increases the interest in the product. A clear generational division in the approach to experimenting is also visible. Younger consumers are more likely to look for new products, while the elders remain faithful to their favorite flavors, such as milk or dark chocolate. The market is estimated almost half – half of consumers and consumers choose proven flavors, and half willingly reach for innovation. There is also a mixed group: those who choose proven products for specific applications, e.g. dark baking chocolate, but on a daily basis experiment with new flavors.

For this reason, new products, although usually seasonal, play an important role in Wedel’s portfolio. A consumer who tries a new taste is more likely to return for another innovation. In practice, this means cyclical product rotation: many proposals appear on the market for 3-4 months, and then give way to subsequent news, maintaining the interest and dynamics of the category.

“Dubai chocolate” was such a trend in recent months. Why did the company Wedel not join him?

Chasing for each novelty is first of all impossible, and secondly – incompatible with our strategy. Trends appear and disappear, and mods can be very variable, so it is important that the company can balance the proportions of responding to them and proposing its own solutions resulting from the knowledge of the market and consumer preferences. Today, the so -called Dubai chocolate, tomorrow it can be “runny nose” or a completely different proposition. Presented all competition movements is practically impossible. We focus on our own news and are satisfied with their sales results. As examples, they can be used, including Carmella stuffed chocolate or milk chocolate plates stuffed in two flavors: apple-wieś and apple-chain created in cooperation with Tymbark.

Despite these individual booms and trends, chocolate consumption decreases. Why?

Last year, chocolate consumption in Poland fell by about 5 percent, which in my opinion is not a reason for concern. This is a small volume correction, not a fundamental market crisis, but for many producers it brings very specific challenges. The main reasons for this situation are in structural factors conditioning the prices of raw materials, primarily in climate change affecting cocoa cultivation in Africa. At the same time, the market is stabilizing, and plantations arising in Central, South America and Indonesia are gaining more and more importance.

Although cocoa from these regions is characterized by a slightly different taste than, for example, raw material from Ghana, they are an increasingly attractive alternative. In addition, the industry is actively developing product innovations and new recipes, which are a response to numerous cost challenges. According to this direction of development, we also work with universities and research centers on new solutions that will help secure the future of the market. Chocolate still remains one of the favorite consumer products, and its health benefits, like high magnesium content, additionally strengthen its position. To sum up: the market stabilizes, innovations go hand in hand with consumer expectations, and chocolate remains the undisputed leader in the category of sweets.

On the one hand, we have a decrease in production, and on the other, Wedel announces the expansion of production lines and taking over more factories.

We are currently implementing several development projects. Already in September we are starting construction works at our main factory related to the new production line. We assume that in the first quarter of next year it will start production, which will allow to significantly increase the generating capacity. At the same time, we modernize the mass line, i.e. the heart of the factory, where all variants of Wedel chocolate masses are created. This is a strategic area, because the quality of the mass directly translates into the quality of the final product.

However, if we are talking about a potential new factory, our plans are strategic and go beyond the infrastructure itself. We develop not only by increasing the production area, but also by entering new product categories and searching for business synergies. Our key goal is to increase business scale and diversify the offer, and not just the construction of further production halls – these are strategic investments that strengthen the brand’s position on the market.

Wedel wants to focus not only on chocolate?

We are not afraid to make brave and innovative decisions. A great example is our cooperation with Gatta, i.e. a joint collection of underwear with the smell and chocolate colors, and with onlybio in the cosmetics segment. These initiatives show that chocolate is not only a classic plate or bird Mleczko®, but inspiration for creative concepts in a broad lifestyle context. Experimenting with new categories brings measurable business effects and meets consumers’ interest. Some projects are greater, others slightly less success, but they all confirm the brand’s potential and its ability to create innovative and very diverse experiences. We will consistently develop such activities because they open new market opportunities and respond to the needs of modern consumers.

This is an unusual approach.

The chocolate world traditionally boils down to the consumption of the product, but we look at it much wider. We redefine this category, showing that chocolate is more than a plate or product added to baking.

Consumers appreciate this approach and are happy to get involved, which can be seen even in social media: “wow, hair shampoo smells with chocolate or cocoa!” They show that our activities combine fun with a real business effect, building positive experiences with the brand. Thanks to this, Wedel is seen as a professional market player, a partner who can also act with humor and distance. Despite nearly 180 years, we are not “old school” on the market! On the contrary, we are innovative, non -standard and young spirit. This approach meets with great recognition of the recipients and we will consistently develop them in subsequent projects with pleasure.