Last month President Trump issued an executive order removing tariffs on imported cocoa and coffee. But chocolate prices had already been rising in recent years due to weak cocoa crop yields linked to weather, and Maine chocolate makers say they are still experiencing high costs of production. Wilbur's of Maine Chocolate Confections in Freeport is trying to keep up with customer demand, even after increasing prices up to 10%.
In a chilly 50 degree room, a batch of Wilbur's popular chocolate blueberries is taking shape.
"And this machine that you're seeing has two big wheels that drive a belt, and it makes, yeah, I just saw that, yeah. And it makes this kind of trough where all the centers sit and they roll around on each other," said Andy Wilbur, Owner of Wilbur's Chocolate Confections.
Wilbur said this is a belt coater which slowly drizzles chocolate down onto a moving belt and evenly distributes chocolate on whatever centers be they nuts or in this case blueberries... are placed in it.
"And then we've got a manifold up above that has three different rows, and each of the rows feeds it with a different type of chocolate," Wilbur said.
But Wilbur said the chocolate he's using costs almost three times what it did before the pandemic. And the machine is from the 1980's. A new one, he said, could increase production of coated items by five fold. But the machines are only made in the UK and between the depreciation of the dollar and a 10% tariff they cost $60 thousand dollars more than just a year ago.
All of this means that he has not been able to keep up with demand for the last five years.
"We've had customers that we haven't been able to get product to as quickly as they need it. Or sometimes, you know, because you lose the sale, you know, if it does, if you don't sell it, sell it in September, and you get it to them in November, then they've lost two months of being able to sell that product. So, and that builds on itself," Wilbur said.
Wilbur said because of production costs, he's already increased prices up to 10% this year, the largest increase in the almost 40 years the company has been in business.
And he's not the only Maine chocolate producer that's had to increase prices this year.
"We've been paying tariffs, like, a ton of tariffs," said Kate McAleer, owner of Bixby Chocolate in Rockland.
McAleer said even though the cocoa tariffs have been lifted, she's still affected by tariffs on aluminum and organic cane sugar.
"At the end of the day, we are a manufacturer making things in America. So some sort of, like tax relief or something, I think is important to offset those increased costs from the tariff perspective," McAleer said.
Ryan Peters, Owner of Perkins Cove Candies in Wells, said candy makers are increasing their prices not to make more profit, but to cover costs. In the end the consumer gets less for their money.
"People are going to come in and spend a certain amount. It's just going to depend on how much they get for that amount. So they're not going to spend more necessarily. They have an amount in mind that they're going to spend, they're just not going to end up getting as much," Peters said.
Back at Wilbur's, a steady stream of customers has been coming through the door all morning. Most of them, like Michel Corriveau of Lewiston, are regulars.
"I come here every Christmas, get something for all my grandkids," Corriveau said.
Corriveau works in town at L.L. Bean and has been coming to Wilbur's every December for 36 years.
"I've never heard anything bad about the candy from my grandkids...they kind of look forward to it," Corriveau said.
To keep Corriveau and other loyal customers happy, Andy Wilbur said he is expanding his production space next month, and hopes to find the money to purchase a new belt coater from the UK, even with a 10% tariff added to the price tag.
