Why a bikini wax and a block of chocolate suddenly have a lot in common

On the surface, a bar of chocolate and a bikini wax may not have that much in common, but over the past week, my experience with both has driven home the stealthy nature of the enduring cost-of-living crisis.

Sure, we’ve all noticed the crunch in the macro things: mortgage repayments, utility bills, health, home and car insurances. But what also continues to bite are the micro-stings, which brings me to chocolate bars and waxing.

Research showed Woolworths customers are paying as much as 3.7 per cent more for a basket of groceries than they were last year. Credit: Bloomberg

Last week, while perusing the Woolworths app for my weekly shop, I was recommended a 100gram block of Lindt chocolate … for $8.50. Let that sink in for a moment. At this rate, it won’t be long before French perfume is better value than a block of fruit ‘n’ nut. Even a Cadbury’s Family Block, which weighs 360 grams, hovers at around $8.

I used to buy Lindt regularly, even during the cost-of-living crunch and usually when it was on sale. Most of the time, the “special” price was about $3.50 – almost three times cheaper than what was being shown to me last week.

One reason for this is the rising price of cacao. During 2024, the global price rose from roughly $US3 per kilogram to as high as $US7, according to Statista. Chocolate-makers, especially those who use a high volume of cacao in their products (white chocolate lovers, for once, you are the lucky ones!) have been left with no choice but to raise prices. This, combined with a weak Australian dollar, explains in part how I arrived at a situation where a block of Lindt is, all of a sudden, a luxury item.

Through his gym, my husband knows a guy who works in the chocolate distribution business (the irony, I know). He says the big international players, which includes Lindt as well as several others, are assessing their options, which could mean smaller bars to help stem future price rises, until the price of cacao stabilises again. Shrinkflation – that is, getting less product for the same price – has been a common remedy in the food industry for tackling price rises.

But there’s also another reason for sustained price hikes. This week, we learnt that Woolworths customers were paying up to 3.7 per cent more for a basket of groceries than they were a year ago when so-called “specials” were included. Without specials, customers are still paying more, but the increase drops to 1.5 per cent. At the other two major national supermarkets (Coles and Aldi), prices in both categories have dropped.

The data, released by the government-funded advocacy group Choice, came a week after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found that our nation’s supermarkets are among the most profitable in the world, and days before the government announced it will outlaw price-gouging if re-elected.

But it’s not just in the supermarket. Hikes are also happening in the service industry, which brings me to my trip to the beautician. Usually, when the therapist leaves me to get ready for my torture session, there is a nice, individually wrapped, three-ply wipe to conduct a quick pre-treatment clean. On this occasion, in its place was a flimsy, single-ply wipe that nearly ripped as soon as I applied any more than the most gentle pressure. No matter, I thought, they must have just run out of the cushy ones.

But at the end of my treatment, cozzie livs struck again when my therapist asked if I would like a disposable towel to wipe off any excess oil, which is applied after the treatment, the cost of which has jumped about 20 per cent in the past two years. Before I could answer, she corrected herself, saying, “Whoops, we don’t do those anymore … cost cuts.” No matter, I replied, slipping into my now oil-smeared pants that would certainly need to be dry-cleaned (another service for which costs have skyrocketed).

On the way home, I thought about all the ways the services I pay for now give me less while charging more: the yoga studio that’s enforcing a strict one-towel-per-person policy, the once included services across airlines, hotels, cafes and everywhere in between that were once complimentary but are now “extras” that attract a fee.

I get that raising prices is often viewed as a last resort, especially for small business. But by the same token, if they reduce their services by such a factor they’re no longer attractive, won’t customers leave anyway?

For now, I am rationing my chocolate and sticking with my waxer (so long as they keep providing the jasmine oil that instantly reminds me of a holiday). I just have to remember to BYO baby wipe, and remember to price search chocolate before my next trip to the shops.

Melissa Singer is associate editor of Sunday Life magazine.

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