Rising Vanilla Prices Could Leave Bitter Taste In The Mouths Of Ice Cream Lovers

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It was a beautiful day Wednesday, nice enough for some people to go out for ice cream.

As we head toward the summer season, consumers can expect to shell out more for their cones and any other products made with vanilla.

For Nathan and Jack Riegler ice cream is a treat for every season.

"They love it. They always ask to go for ice cream, probably every week," their mother Christina told CBS2's Dave Carlin.

But a supply and demand problem could have some people trying to 'hold the vanilla.'

The price of vanilla beans tripled in just the last year due to a worldwide shortage.

It's a bitter reality for merchants who rely on the sweet ingredient.

"We've been paying at the highest market price," Joann Linden, Creme Allure Confectioneries said.

Linden wants to expand her two year old vanilla and chocolate confectionery business.

Vanilla is inside almost all of the forty sweets that she offers, so she'll have to cut back elsewhere to avoid passing along the higher costs to her customers.

"We'll do everything in our power to keep our prices stable. If it means lower shipping rates, lower shopping charges to make up the difference," she said.

Linden said if vanilla prices keep soaring she'll have no choice but to raise prices.

It's not just ice cream sweets that will cost more. Vanilla is used in popular organic food extracts, drinks, cookies, and cakes.

It's also a main ingredient in chocolate.

Valerie Murray said her family likes ice cream so much that they make their own at home.

"That's something we look forward to every summer, that's a shame it has to go up so much," she said.

For the most ardent vanilla lovers going without just isn't an option and exactly how much more they'll pay remains to be seen.

Vanilla is also a main ingredient in many perfumes and lotions, so prices could rise for those products as well.