The summer ritual is familiar: a quick stop for a scoop of ice cream, a family tub for the freezer, a chocolate bar picked up on the way home. This year, those small indulgences may come at a higher price.

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The conflict in West Asia has begun to ripple through supply chains, raising the cost of imported ingredients used in ice creams and chocolates and squeezing manufacturers during the peak sales season, according to a report by The Times of India.

Companies that rely on nuts, dry fruits and cocoa say prices have climbed sharply in recent weeks, while freight and packaging costs have also moved higher. 

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An industry executive told the newspaper that nuts and dry fruits now cost 15% to 22% more than pre-war levels.

For many brands, the timing could hardly be worse. The disruption arrived just as summer demand accelerated, leaving little room to redesign products or change sourcing plans.

According to the report, Siddhant Kamath, director at Naturals Ice Cream, said certain inputs like dry fruits and cocoa are seeing tightness of supply and longer lead times. Many such categories are, he added, dependent on imports and sea-route supply chains, including regions impacted by the geopolitical situation.

Naturals has already raised prices by an average of 10% across its portfolio to cope with higher overall input costs. Mother Dairy has also taken selective price increases in ice creams, driven by global commodity movements and higher logistics costs, Managing Director Jayatheertha Chary said.

Manufacturers say cutting back on premium ingredients is not an easy answer, especially for products sold on taste and texture.

Chocolate makers are facing similar pressures. Pascati Chocolates said the cost of hazelnuts has jumped 75% from a year earlier. Founder Devansh Ashar said hazelnuts are largely imported from Turkey, but wider regional instability has pushed shipments to air routes, increasing costs.

Ashar said Thermocol box and packaging costs have also increased. Eventually, he added, the company will have to increase the price of its hazelnut-based chocolates in the next month or so.

The pressure is not limited to desserts. Earlier, a shortage of Diet Coke was reported across urban centres, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurugram and Noida. The shortage was caused by disruptions in global packaging supplies such as aluminium, delays in shipping, local regulatory adjustments and fragile quick-commerce inventories. 

Published on: Apr 27, 2026 2:30 PM IST