These challenges already have caused lower cocoa yield and supply instability, leading in turn to quality and safety concerns, with heavy metal and pesticide contamination from archaic farming and handling practices. Meanwhile social and environmental issues including child labor, economic inequity, and high-carbon-emission transportation methods tied to unsustainable farming practices are compounding these interconnected issues. 

2025 will signal a marked acceleration of AI in marketing as companies move past pilot purgatory and can scale models that create highly personalized consumer interactions, automate processes, and provide predictive data and analytics strategies.

Following Circana’s forecast for 2024 from a year ago and the recent midyear update, the market has mainly trended as predicted. Overall, dollar sales have grown by 2.6%, price/mix by 1.6% and volume sales by 1.1% in 2024.

Nearly two thirds of respondents (64%) said they believed that food and beverage products made with the help of AI technology should not be described as ‘natural’ – with 12% disagreeing with this. There was also strong support for regulation, with 78% of respondents agreeing that the Government should introduce laws controlling the ways food and drink companies can use AI technology to design and manufacture their products. Just 6% disagreed with this.