Whittaker’s chocolate price: Blocks as high as $8.49 in supermarkets after hike
It now costs up to $8.49 to buy a block of Whittaker’s chocolate after the company upped its prices.
New World stores across Auckland were selling regular 250g blocks for $8.49 on Monday. Just last Friday, they were $7.69, 80c cheaper.
The cheapest Auckland price the Herald could find was $6.39 at Pak’nSave in Botany.
Blocks at Sylvia Park and Ormiston were $6.49, while other Pakn’Save supermarkets were selling them for $7.09.
Woolworths stores were selling the blocks for $7.69 on Monday.
Prices of other Whittaker’s products have also increased.
Last week, New World was selling 100g blocks for $5.99. Today, they cost $6.99.
The 45g bars, including “Peanut Slabs”, last week cost $2.09. Now they are $2.69.
Hike driven by a jump in ingredient and operating costs
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The company announced prices would be increased across its range of products last Friday.
“At Whittaker’s, we’re proud to craft all of our chocolate right here in New Zealand, using the finest ingredients,” the company said on its social media.
“For us, increasing our prices is always a last resort, however, over the past year, the cost of ingredients and operating costs have continued to rise.
“We’ll never compromise on the size or quality of our products so this price increase will enable us to continue bringing you our delicious chocolate made with the very best, ethically sourced ingredients.”
The announcement comes after Statistics NZ yesterday revealed food prices had increased 4.1% in the 12 months to September.
The average price of milk was 15.1% higher than a year ago. Stats NZ said the 3.9% increase in prices in the grocery food category had driven the overall food price.
Butter prices were 28.9% higher than a year ago and cheese prices rose 31.4%.
The social media response to Whittaker’s announcement appeared to be understanding of the cost pressures and appreciative of the company’s commitment to quality and block size.
“I’ll give credit where credit’s due. You are always up front when increasing prices and very clear in not compromising on quality, unlike competitors who slowly reduce their sizing and quality and hope the customer won’t notice. Will always buy Whittaker’s,” one social media user said.
“Consistent quality and transparency means I will always buy your chocolate,” another said.
“Love your chocolate, love that it never shrinks, and the recipe never changes. Happy to support local. We’re loyal to Whittaker’s,” another social media user said.
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Christmas gifts stolen from parked car prompts warning over holiday break-ins
An Auckland man whose Christmas presents were stolen from his car on a quiet street is warning others not to repeat his mistake.
Police and the AA say opportunistic thieves are breaking into cars more frequently during the Christmas period.
Jeremy Rees, an RNZ staff member in Auckland, had packed his car full of gifts when he decided to visit a friend.
“Everyone had handed over presents and we had a couple of bags full of presents sitting in the back of the car,” he said.
“I decided it would be great to go around and see a friend, drop off some presents and say hello. My wife said to me, ‘Are you sure we should be taking this car?’ I said, ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine’.
“I think it was only 20 minutes outside their house, a very quiet street. It was light [outside]. We came out and my wife pointed out that someone had smashed the rear window, reached in and grabbed the presents, and headed away.
“It was a shock. It was a shock partly because of the Christmas presents and partly because my wife had been telling me, ‘Don’t do that’.”
AA Insurance head of motor claims Beau Paparoa said roadside staff were responding to smashed windows more often.
“We definitely see car break-ins starting to occur a lot more around this time of year. We’re often hearing from customers and some of our roadside teams that there’s definitely a bit more opportunistic theft happening,” he said.
“We’re putting that down to it being a busy time of year. Everyone’s out doing their Christmas shopping and there’s much more presence of gifts and valuables being visible in the car.”
He encouraged people to be careful and make sure valuables were hidden from view.
“In terms of any valuables, if you’ve done some Christmas shopping, or if generally you’ve got valuables in your car, try [to] keep them locked away or out of sight – in your boot if you can,” he said.
“Where you’re parking is possibly a good thing to think about. If you can afford to, don’t park on the street, but if you have to park on-street, make sure you park in well-lit areas.”
Police said it was not uncommon for Christmas presents to be stolen.
“The key is to remove any opportunity. This includes taking valuables or documents out of vehicles wherever possible,” a spokesperson said.
Rees said he wished he had followed that advice.
“I feel a bit stupid, to be absolutely honest. I read all of the things from police saying ‘don’t do this, don’t pack your car, don’t just leave it on the street’, and I did exactly the opposite and I paid the price.”
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Auckland Harbour Bridge summer works
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is carrying out essential maintenance on the Auckland Harbour Bridge this December and January. The southbound clip-on lanes will be closed (24/7) from 26 December to 5 January for road resurfacing. Night-time lane restrictions will be in place throughout the summer for recoating work on the bridge. Traffic will still be able to travel in both directions at all times.
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