As Easter approaches, people are searching for chocolate more than ever—and not just for egg hunts, Easter baskets, and bunny-shaped treats. This year’s data shows that online interest in chocolate is climbing to new highs around the Easter season, whether people are looking for Easter basket ideas or simple chocolate treats, on top of an already strong upward trend over the last few years.
To understand this, Gourmet Gift Baskets tracked monthly Google searches for chocolate‑related keywords in every U.S. state from January 2022 through December 2025, as well as the official Producer Price Index for chocolate. We examined both classic seasonal patterns (such as Easter and winter holidays) and the impact of new viral behavior—most notably a sharp spike in interest in “Dubai chocolate.”
Key Takeaways
- Chocolate interest is growing much faster than prices. From January 2022 to December 2025, traditional chocolate searches rose about 104%, while the chocolate producer price index increased about 64%.
- Holiday seasons drive the clearest demand peaks once you remove the viral “Dubai chocolate” term. Searches climb 104% over the period and peak in December 2025 (413,270 searches) and December 2024 (318,150), with a strong secondary lift around Easter, showing that winter holidays and spring gifting seasons are the most reliable chocolate moments.
- Dark chocolate leads the way across states. Dark chocolate makes up 47.50% of type searches nationwide (3,484,010 searches), ahead of white chocolate at 35.95% (2,636,750) and milk chocolate at 16.55% (1,213,850).
Demand vs. Price
From January 2022 to December 2025, total chocolate search demand (all keywords, all states) rose from 202,430 searches in the first month to 1,105,750 in the last month, an increase of about 446%. One important catch is that “Dubai chocolate” becomes the dominant keyword near the end of the timeline. In its peak month, March 2025, “Dubai chocolate” makes up 86.88% of all chocolate searches (1,791,900 out of 2,062,580), so the “all‑keyword” trend is really telling the story of one viral term.
If you remove “Dubai chocolate,” demand still rises from 202,110 searches in January 2022 to 413,270 in December 2025, a 104% increase. Over the same period, the chocolate Producer Price Index (PPI) went from 112.42 to 184.635, or about 64% growth.
When Does Chocolate Demand Peak?
In the full all‑keyword basket, the five highest‑demand months all appear in 2025. March 2025 leads with 2,062,580 searches, followed by April (1,844,960), May (1,564,350), August (1,474,290), and June (1,386,640). Those March and April highs overlap with the Easter season, but they are pushed up strongly by the “Dubai chocolate” surge.
When you remove “Dubai chocolate,” the timing of peaks shifts and looks more like a regular holiday pattern. The top ex‑Dubai month is December 2025 at 413,270 searches, followed by December 2024 at 318,150, June 2025 at 317,760, October 2025 at 310,780, and November 2025 at 306,330. This points to a clear story: core chocolate demand is strongest in the winter holidays and also jumps around Easter and mid‑year, while the Dubai spike sits on top of those seasonal waves instead of replacing them.
The Dubai Chocolate Distortion
“Dubai chocolate” is the single most searched keyword in our analysis, with 13,738,550 total searches. It is much larger than the second‑biggest term, “dark chocolate,” which has 3,484,010 searches.
Even in the March–April Easter window, “Dubai chocolate” stays on top with 3,342,350 searches, compared with 542,410 for “dark chocolate” and 402,440 for “white chocolate.” That shows how big the Dubai effect really is.
State‑level Preferences by Chocolate Type
Within the traditional types of “dark chocolate,” “milk chocolate,” and “white chocolate,” national totals show dark chocolate in the lead. Dark chocolate accounts for 3,484,010 searches and a 47.50% share of type searches, white chocolate has 2,636,750 searches and a 35.95% share, and milk chocolate trails with 1,213,850 searches and a 16.55% share.
At the state level, dark chocolate is the top type everywhere, so the more meaningful geographic story is how strongly each state leans toward dark or white chocolate, rather than which type “wins.” The five most dark chocolate-leaning states by dark chocolate share:
- California (49.87%)
- Texas (49.57%)
- South Dakota (49.55%)
- Wyoming (49.04%)
- Idaho (48.94%)
The five most white chocolate-leaning states by white chocolate share:
- Vermont (42.39%)
- West Virginia (42.38%)
- Colorado (41.92%)
- Alaska (41.60%)
- Montana (41.44%)
Chocolate demand is rising faster than prices, and Easter is emerging as one of the strongest moments in that surge. Our data shows that even after removing viral spikes, chocolate searches more than double from 2022 to 2025, with clear peaks around Easter and the winter holidays.
Methodology
This study links U.S. monthly chocolate search demand (Google searches for chocolate-related keywords across all states) with the official Producer Price Index (PPI) for chocolate and cocoa products. Demand is measured as monthly search totals, then converted to year‑over‑year (YoY) percent changes to focus on movement rather than long‑run drift. Price is measured using monthly PPI values, and YoY percent changes over the overlapping 2022‑01 to 2025‑12 window. The analysis looks at the full chocolate keyword basket, an “ex‑Dubai” basket that removes “dubai chocolate,” and then breaks out type‑specific demand (dark, milk, white chocolate) by geography and correlation with price changes.