Good morning, CFOs. Rocky Mountain Chocolate uses dynamic pricing in the face of cocoa price swings; Canada’s booze boycott hits U.S. alcohol industry; plus, U.S. jobless claims fall.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has adopted a dynamic pricing strategy after seeing rising cocoa costs cut into profits. That means prices for its gourmet chocolates could change every three months.

Cocoa prices that soared late last year have fallen in recent months, hovering Wednesday afternoon at around $8,660 a metric ton compared with over $12,000 in December. But they remain above historical levels with supplies squeezed by poor weather and plant disease. In response, chocolate makers have doubled down on hedging strategies, changed packaging and raised prices to protect profits.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate’s answer includes quarterly pricing adjustments for truffles, chocolate-covered pretzels and more to account for the turbulent cocoa market. Executives call it dynamic pricing, though there are no plans to change prices based on demand around popular chocolate holidays such as Valentine’s Day, said Chief Financial Officer Carrie Cass. Instead, the chocolate seller will raise—and lower—prices on a set schedule based on its own costs.

“We’re really trying to stick to a certain margin,” Cass said.

📈 Economic Indicators

The Census Bureau reports retail sales data for July.

Canada’s prohibition on U.S. alcohol is creating a headache for American liquor and winemakers.

On the shelves of many Canadian liquor stores, bottles of Jack Daniel’s, Maker’s Mark and Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum are nowhere to be found. Thousands of bottles of U.S. wine and spirits sit in storage across the country. At tastings, Canadian drinkers are turning their noses up at American alcohol.

• Stocks closed nearly unchanged Thursday, retracing some earlier declines fueled by a pickup in factory-gate inflation that clouded the outlook for interest rates.
• Wholesale prices—the cost of goods and services purchased directly from producers—rose at the sharpest monthly rate in three years, raising fresh alarm that tariffs are taking root in the economy and pushing up inflation.

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