Cookie and Cracker Manufacturers NAICS 311821

Nov 20, 2025 - Cocoa Substitutes

• The soaring price of cocoa, driven by climate-induced shortages, is driving innovation in sustainable substitutes for cocoa butter, Food Ingredients reports. Alternatives, developed through precision fermentation or cell-culture, replicate cocoa butter’s texture and melting behavior while offering more stable supply and cost predictability. Cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs) allows food manufacturers to reduce their reliance on traditional cocoa, hedge against price spikes, and maintain product quality. Still, substituting CBEs for cocoa butter may risk alienating consumers with discerning palates. Moreover, widespread adoption of substitutes could threaten smallholder farmers in West Africa, which supplies about 90% of the world’s cocoa, so manufacturers may need to combine innovation with sustainable sourcing and support programs.
• Cookie and cracker prices rose less in September than prices for food in general, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) October 2025 report shows cookie prices rose 1.7% year over year and 0.2% month over month in September (the latest month for which data is available). That’s compared to a 3% YoY and 0.3% MoM rise for food prices overall. Cracker prices rose 2.1% compared to a year ago in September, less than for all food, but were up 1.5% versus August. Despite declining wheat prices, which recently hit five-year lows, prices of other ingredients, notably cocoa and spices that are impacted by tariffs, have risen. Also, wages for bakery workers are at near record highs: Their wage growth over the past three years was 17.2%, higher than overall private wage growth of 13.4%.

• Consumers across all income levels are cutting back on discretionary purchases, leading to weaker snack and adult-beverage sales, the interim CEO of Kroger Ron Sargent told The Wall Street Journal in September. Sargent said the pullback on spending is most pronounced among low- and middle-income households, with those consumers using more coupons, making smaller and more frequent trips to the store, and buying more private-label products. To keep its prices low, Kroger is absorbing higher costs even as wholesale food prices, including for cookies and crackers, continue to rise, Sargent told WSJ. In related news, spending growth by Hispanic households, which account for 15% of consumer spending, has stalled, according to a new report titled The State of Hispanic Spending. The report’s verified purchase data highlight growing financial caution among Hispanic consumers, driven by ongoing economic pressures and political uncertainty.
• Producer prices for cookie and cracker manufacturers rose 3.6% in August compared to a year ago, after posting a previous flat August-versus-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. At retail, cookie prices rose 3.5% year over year in August but fell 1% from July, while cracker prices rose 0.8% YoY and 0.4% versus July, according to the August Consumer Price Index report from the Labor Department. Employment by cookie and cracker manufacturers shrank 2.9% YoY in July, while average industry wages rose 3% over the same period to a new high of $23.13 per hour, BLS data show.