Valentine’s Day heart-shaped chocolate boxes have always come with a bit of sticker shock, one that most are okay with swallowing to make their loved one feel special.
However, most shoppers expect a small markup for the holiday, not prices that feel completely detached from reality.
That’s what one Arkansas man says he ran into while shopping at Walmart, after noticing the price tags on Godiva and Ghirardelli chocolate and deciding to do the math himself.
What’s Happening With These Prices?
The official TikTok account for Carroll’s Candies (@carrollscandies), a candy shop based in Jonesboro, Arkansas, broke down what they say are unusually high chocolate prices they spotted both in-store at Walmart and online. The video has racked up more than 1.1 million views.
“Godiva has lost their minds,” the creator says at the start of the clip.
For context, he explains that in a previous video he had already flagged a box of Ghirardelli chocolates that worked out to about $50 per pound. “This is way worse,” he adds.
He then shows a photo he took of a heart-shaped Godiva box priced at $15.97. On its own, that number doesn’t seem outrageous. The problem shows up once he opens his calculator.
“If you do the math, this 2.9-ounce box of chocolates is $88 a pound for their chocolate,” he says.
Curious whether the markup came from the retailer or the brand itself, he says he checked Godiva’s website. “I thought to myself, is it the big box store that’s being greedy, or is it Godiva?” he says. “So I went to their website, and it gets way worse.”
To put the size into perspective, he notes that 2.9 ounces amounts to just five caramels, which he shows resting on a scale. From there, he clicks through Godiva’s larger assortments. “I go on here, and I look for a big box of chocolates, thinking if you buy a lot, you might get a discount,” he says.
It Doesn’t Get Any Better
Instead, he finds a sold-out box weighing a pound and a half priced at $175. “Let’s do the math,” he says, punching the numbers into his phone. “$113 a pound. Are you kidding me?”
Smaller boxes aren’t any better. A 6.2-ounce assortment priced at $55 works out to roughly $141 per pound, according to his calculations.
“You would think it wouldn’t get worse, but it does,” he says, adding that many shoppers don’t want to spend that much just to grab a small Valentine’s gift. However, even an eight-piece box priced at $30 comes out to about $150 per pound.
He contrasts those prices with the candy behind him on the shelves of Carroll’s Candies. “Your mom and pop candy stores are where you need to be for good deals,” he says, arguing that local shops often sell fresher chocolate at a fraction of the price.
Why Are Chocolates So Expensive?
According to a report from Baker’s Authority, much of the increase traces back to the global price of cocoa, which at one point this year reached around $10,000 per metric ton.
The report cited a mix of issues driving those costs, including severe weather damaging cocoa crops, disease affecting yields, illegal gold mining wiping out cocoa farms, and smuggling that pushes farmers to sell beans across borders for higher prices.
As of now, cocoa prices have eased and sit at $5,500, nearly half of their peak. Even so, price drops at the commodity level don’t always translate quickly to lower prices on store shelves, especially for branded products tied to holiday demand.
It’s also worth noting that premium chocolate brands often price products based on brand positioning rather than ingredient costs alone, especially during seasonal spikes like Valentine’s Day.
BroBible reached out to Godiva via email for comment.
Commenters Are Fed Up
In the comments, viewers reacted with disbelief and frustration.
“They have it priced like it’s the 1800s and they just imported the cocoa on a wooden ship,” one person joked.
Another wrote, “I swear companies are just out here making stuff up.”
Several commenters compared the prices to what they see at local candy shops. “My local chocolate shop has been open since the 1920s; their chocolates are at $28/lb,” one person shared. “They’re literally handmade in the back by little old ladies & they’re SO good.”
@carrollscandies If you are not doing the math on how expensive chocolate is getting at the big box stores, you should be! #psa #chocolate #walmart
Others were less charitable about the value. “And it’ll be the WORST $100 chocolate you’ll have in your life in that heart box,” one commenter added.
BroBible has also contacted Carroll’s Candies via its contact form and Instagram messages for more information.