A look from the Chocolate Fashion Show at New York City's annual Chocolate Show could truly be considered luxury fashion in a matter of years.

New York City’s 13th Annual Chocolate Show kicked off yesterday at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea with a Chocolate Fashion Show that showcased wearable designs that demonstrated a bit more artistry than you’d normally associate with body chocolate. {CBS News}

The 65 chocolate companies showcasing their creations specialize in the type of chocolate which will probably set you back further than your average Hershey bar, but in a matter of years, their offerings could be significantly more expensive due to projected chocolate shortages.

John Mason, of the Nature Conservation Research Council says that chocolate could be the new caviar in 20 years. {the Independent}

The reason? Simply, chocolate demand is outpacing cocoa production and supply. Part of the reason for the shortage in supply is attributed to trade practices that make cocoa an unprofitable crop for farmers who make less than $1 a day for their efforts, and end up with nutrient depleted soil to boot.

Among potential cocoa farmers in the Ivory Coast – one of the world’s leading cocoa producers, many are taking their chances in cities where better paying jobs exist. Those who stick with farming are switching to rubber, which has more stable prices for farmers. While some chocolate companies are going for fair trade practices that pay farmers more, and help to make cocoa production more sustainable, others are taking a scientific approach to make trees less susceptible to fungi and offer better returns. {Atlantic Wire} Cocoa prices in August hit a 30-year high, so either way chocolate lovers may have to get used to higher prices or less expensive susbstitutes.

Like that Hershey bar, which abandoned cocoa butter in 2008 and lost the right to legally wear the chocolate label.

And later, they told us that beef jerky was actually the more popular of the two. {Chocomize Twitter}

To which we say, who are these people? Chocolate beef jerky and bacon? We’re not even sure if This Is Why You’re Fat has a category for that yet.

But we really do want to know, who’s coming up with these combos? So, we’re going to do a small giveaway to find out.

Entering is simple: visit Chocomize and take a look around. Once you’ve come up with your gourmet combo, stop by our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/Signature9) and post it on our wall.

There are 3 ways to win:

1. We’ll choose one bar as the Signature9 favorite, and pick up the tab to have it created for the winner.
2. If you don’t want to leave it to chance, we’ll also send a bar to the person who creates the combination garnering the most likes.
3. And finally, if you’re not creative, but just see something that looks like a great combo, give it a “like.” We’ll choose one person to receive the bar they like most.

Chocolate meat lovers, be forewarned, the Signature9 favorite will likely not involve beef jerky. We’ll take submissions until August 2nd, and announce the winners on August 3rd.

For now, the hottest new personalized product trend is creating your own chocolate. Chocomize, a New York-based Web company, offers custom-made candy bars, designed by the consumer and shipped right to their door. You get a choice of up to five out of 90 ingredients to add to your choice of chocolate bark for over 30 million combinations to create “chocolate exactly the way you want it.” You can also design your own packaging and engrave personalized messages into the chocolate.

Ingredients include nuts, fruit, seeds, herbs, spices and decorations in addition to some peculiar choices, with some of the most outrageous including Pop Rocks, vegetarian bacon, Edamame, corn nuts and Beef Jerky. {DesignCrave}

Chocolate bars start at $3.85. Thatâ€s pricey for a piece of candy, but perhaps worth it for the custom-obsessed or socially conscious, as a portion of the proceeds for each candy bar sold go to a charity of the customerâ€s choice. Chocolate with a personalized message is also a cute party or wedding favor idea.

Chocomize is not alone in the customized chocolate-verse. Createmychocolate.com (Chocri) offers a similar service with over 100 toppings and a charity donation upon checkout. Chocri was founded in Germany and launched in the United States this past January.

The coolest thing about Chocomize, however, is its back story. Eric Heinbockel, Fabian Kaempfer and Nick LaCava, three young entrepreneurs who met at Columbia University, founded the company after realizing the economic downturn meant poor job prospects for all of them upon graduation. They decided to create their own career path and chose to start a customized candy bar business after their own research showed chocolate to be one luxury good still in demand despite the recession.{CrunchGear}

Talk about inspiring!

From left to right, the Chocomize Smores Bar, Tighty Whiteys chocolate bar, and Fresh Face Forward chocolate bar