The sale of fair trade chocolate has leapt almost 10,000 per cent since 2007, new data suggests, meaning that it's more likely than ever you will have eaten a fair trade or artisan egg this Easter.
There is also a significant growth in sales from speciality chocolate stores, while supermarkets fight back by offering a increasing range of premium chocolate brands.
Figures compiled by market analysts IBISWorld for Fairfax Media reveal that sales of fair trade chocolate have soared from $1.2 million in 2006-07 to $146 million in 2011-12. Over the same period the free trade percentage of total chocolate sales went from 0.03 per cent to 4.08 per cent.
The biggest factor behind the growth is attributed to the adoption by Cadbury to fair trade cocoa which occurred mid-2010.
Failure to capitalise on the trend to organic and free trade is thought to have been behind the collapse of 85-year-old confectioner Darrell Lea in 2012 analysts said at the time.
Stephen Gargano, IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst said consumers were being a little more cautious with how they spent their money and were taking note of the social effects of the money they do spend.
"About a decade ago the vast majority of the fair trade sales involved coffee but the sales of chocolate as a percentage of those fair trade sales has risen dramatically, really underpinned by the move of Cadbury to fair trade chocolate across their Dairy Milk range," he said.
"Additionally there's increased popularity of fair trade and that is encouraging quite a few companies to introduce it to their trade lines.
"For speciality chocolate stores, the ability to carry these premium lines, organic and fair trade products, allows them to charge premium prices. Consumers understand that they are getting a differentiated product as opposed to the simple chocolate you might find in the supermarket more commonly."
He said that despite publicity surrounding obesity and diabetes, chocolate was considered to a large degree one of those 'affordable luxuries' that can be consumed in small quantities without feeling guilty.
Revenue at speciality chocolate stores has increased at an annualised 4.7 per cent from $222 million in 2008-9 to $279 million in 2013-14. It is expected to reach $319 million by 2018-19.
