Rising costs push Japan stores to cacao alternatives before Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day approaching, Japan's major department stores are turning to alternative methods and ingredients to curb the prices of chocolates, the country's most popular gift of the season, as cacao and logistics costs continue to climb.Matsuya Co.'s department store in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, for instance, has begun selling a new lineup of 10 chocolates through its online store that feature domestically produced fruit and ingredients, responding to rising prices by reducing the amount of cacao used per piece while highlighting the appeal of those foods.In addition, Patisse…READ FULL ARTICLE