“I wouldn't say that it's going to be simple, but there will be an understanding that if cocoa prices remain relatively high, that there will need to be more price increases that need to be implemented.”

In context

“side, but it came early. So some of the numbers you're seeing are influenced versus last year, we didn't have an earlier Easter. But overall, I would say that this certainly is better than you would have expected. It shouldn't be a surprise in a way because we know that the chocolate market can be very resilient. We also are continuing to invest quite heavily. And consumer confidence in Europe, I would say, is stable. There is some uptick in elasticity. But overall, it's is better than you would have expected and maybe even a little bit more positive than what we currently are seeing in U.S. Going forward, I think it helps to see a strong category that we are performing well. Of course, the retailers see the cocoa pricing as well as we do. So it will help the discussions going forward. I wouldn't say that it's going to be simple, but there will be an understanding that if cocoa prices remain relatively high, that there will need to be more price increases that need to be implemented. And I think we're helped by the data that we can provide. And we also have to see what's going to happen with elasticity going forward as the new chocolate prices get implemented because when you have seasonal like Easter, the consumer not necessarily is fully aware of the price difference. When they start to see their tablet now in the normal shelf, that's when they will fully realize elasticity. So we will need to see where that is heading. But overall, yes, very positive on what is going on with chocolate in Europe. Operator: We'll take our next question from Steve Powers with Deutsche Bank. Stephen Robert Powers: Great. I want to talk a bit of about the gross margin. I thought coming into this year, you actually expected the gross margin to start out slower in the first quarter and”