Life is like the volatile cocoa market—you never know what you’re going to get. But one thing’s for sure: This February, much like last year, consumers shopping for Valentine’s Day chocolates will be met with sticker shock as chocolate makers continue to pass on high cocoa prices to consumers.

What’s happening? Cocoa prices jumped nearly 180% last year, hitting prices just short of $13,000 per metric ton, with prices currently hovering just above $11,000. These record-high prices are a result of a global cocoa shortage driven by several factors, Oran van Dort, a commodity analyst at Rabobank, told Retail Brew. Severe weather in West Africa, the primary exporter of the world’s cocoa, impacted the cocoa crop; and a government policy in West Africa that sets fixed prices paid to farmers for their cocoa beans that fall much below the international prices has made farming the crop financially unsustainable, leading farmers to exit the cocoa business. Both factors have led to dwindling supply, pushing prices higher.

Those higher cocoa prices have led to price hikes from chocolate suppliers and ultimately brands.

Keep reading here.—EC

January was wedding season on Shopify as items related to wedding finery drove significant sales on the platform that builds e-commerce stores, per the latest data from Shopify shared first exclusively with Retail Brew.

Sales of typical wedding items like ​​corsages and boutonnières spiked 80% compared to December across Shopify stores. Orders for wedding invitations jumped 50%, followed closely by bridal party dresses, which were up 47%. Sales of wedding dresses rose 24% among shoppers. Meanwhile, address labels, presumably to go on wedding invitations, saw a whopping 940% increase.

Keep reading here.—VC

The Super Bowl is less than a week away, and brands are getting ready for the biggest ad night of the year. In addition to CPG companies such as Budweiser, Hellmann’s, and Nerds, Instacart is running its first-ever Super Bowl ad, a 30-second spot featuring the mascots of major grocery brands including Green Giant, Mr. Clean, and the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Here’s what else is going on in retail this week:

In conferences: NY NOW’s Winter Market is running from Sunday to Tuesday. The multi-day wholesale event brings together thousands of emerging brands for the benefit of potential buyers from around the world. The brands exhibiting run the gamut from stationery and candles to kitchenware and gourmet treats.

Keep reading here.—AV