LONDON – Nestlé may flag more price hikes on its chocolate products when the world's biggest food maker reports first-half earnings on Thursday, making Kit Kat bars and Smarties more expensive by Christmas.

Over the past three years, Nestlé and other consumer goods companies have raised prices across their brands to cover sky-high input costs amid supply chain issues after the pandemic. In recent quarters, the costs of most commodities have started to decline again but cocoa has nearly doubled in price this year amid shrinking supplies.