Chocolate’s Appeal Grows, Lifestyle and Consumer Preferences, Arla Lends Expertise

Chocolate’s appeal grows worldwide
Americans love their chocolate, and the United States is the world’s largest chocolate market at $21 billion in 2014. But this is expected to change, with Asia poised to lead the way in market growth in 2015 and beyond, according to market research firm Mintel, Chicago. South Korea, followed by India, China, and Vietnam, are Asian countries that saw the most growth in 2014.

Marcia Mogelonsky, director of insight, food and drink, at Mintel, points out that growth in the chocolate confectionery market may have slowed slightly in the United States due to health concerns, rising costs, and competition from other food and beverage categories that offer chocolate-flavored products, but is predicted to have steady growth through 2019. The growth of the chocolate confectionery market in the United States, though, will still be at a lower rate than in Asia, she adds.

European product developers of chocolate confectionery have been quite busy; Europe accounted for 51% of all launches in the category between 2013 and 2014, according to Mintel’s Global New Product Database. The Asia Pacific region had the next highest amount at 21%, followed by North America, Latin America, and Middle East/Africa. Some of the innovation seen in these new products involves flavor and texture and enhancing the chocolate confections with added ingredients, according to the Mintel research. Other new product development in this area explores using flavors beyond the traditionally sweet ones and emphasizing more white and dark chocolate, which continue to grow in popularity. A consumer base that is more conservative in its preferences of chocolate confections will still affect exactly how innovative product developers can get in their formulation efforts.

Lifestyle factors shape consumer preferences
Consumers around the world are increasingly concerned about the use of certain food additives. “Whether it is about colors, flavors, or preservatives, the call for natural alternatives is getting louder and wider,” states Jeannette O’Brien, vice president of GNT USA Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y., in a press statement. Commenting on a study that presented insights into consumers’ perception of food, O’Brien says that the results can help food manufacturers to better understand in greater detail what consumers demand.

Market research firm TNS conducted the study of 5,000 adult consumers from Brazil, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Poland, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States on behalf of GNT USA. One of the key points that the market researchers discovered is that consumers want healthy and natural food products, but lifestyles and expectations often factor into their decisions to actually purchase and consume these types of products. For instance, consumers in Asia and South America indicated an increasing awareness for healthy nutrition, but a lack of time or a lack of information about the food and its ingredients interferes with them incorporating naturally derived foods or ingredients into their diet. American and European consumers on the other hand are more willing to spend the time and money to achieve their nutritional goals of eating a healthy diet and choosing products formulated with naturally derived ingredients.

Consumers indicating an interest in healthier foods and naturally derived ingredients present opportunities to product developers. “Food manufacturers have to follow suit and enable consumers to easily find healthy products that satisfy their needs,” remarks O’Brien. 

Arla lends expertise to GAIN initiative
Ethiopia has a limited availability of affordable dairy products despite having more than 54 million cattle in the country. Low milk yield per cow and poor distribution are said to contribute to this, and a new partnership between Nordic and Ethiopian businesses hopes to solve these problems in an economically sustainable way. Arla Foods Ingredients, Viby J, Denmark, recently announced its commitment to the Nordic Partnership initiative—led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)—to share its expertise in dairy processing and provide whey ingredients for local production of affordable, nutrient-dense powder supplements for children up to the age of two. The overall mission of GAIN is to alleviate malnutrition and create local jobs in the communities.

Representatives from Arla Foods have already met with Ethiopian officials to learn about the growth potential of Ethiopia’s dairy industry. Local dairy farmers, manufacturers, aid organizations, and government authorities participated as well to discuss how all of these key players could create new joint ventures to effect change in the industry and particularly to aid low-income families.

Karen Nachay,
Senior Associate Editor
[email protected]