UK confectionery market
11 April 2011 – A new Key Note report entitled ‘Confectionery’ looks at the UK market for chocolate and sugar confectionery. Over the five year period spanning 2006 to 2010, sales of confectionery increased by approximately 14 per cent to £5.03 billion. Chocolate remains by far the largest sector of the confectionery market, with sales rising by 17 per cent over the five years, compared to the sugar confectionery market which grew by just 6.3 per cent over the same period. This was principally down to the continued popularity of chocolate products and the rising retail price of confectionery.
Chewing gum sales have fallen by 1.4 percent to £340 million in 2010. Major brands such as Wrigley are focusing on mint gum, marking a return to simpler products, after vast numbers of flavour and variety launches in 2009-10.
New product development (NPD) has been limited in recent years. Instead, many brands have produced their existing products in different formats, for example, as miniatures, or improved and modified the recipes of existing products in order to retain consumer interest. Pouches and tubs for sharing have been particularly successful in recent years.
The past few years have also seen concerns regarding the ethical sourcing and production of confectionery products escalate. As a result, organic and fairtrade ingredients have become more widely used in confectionery products, especially by more well known brands, such as Nestlé and Cadbury. The former has pledged to use only sustainable palm oil in its products from 2015, while the latter’s subsidiary, Green & Black’s, has promised to certify its entire portfolio as fairtrade by the same year.
Rising input costs have been one of the major factors affecting the market in recent years and Key Note predicts that this will continue into the future, resulting in a rising market value. The price of cocoa and sugar has increased dramatically over the five year review period, which is likely to have an adverse affect on the chocolate confectionery sector. Although some companies maintained a good level of ingredient stocks in 2010, the rising cost of commodities, coupled with the increase in value added tax (VAT) in January, is likely to have a more noticeable effect on the industry in 2011.
In the UK, the confectionery market continues to enjoy a high level of consumer penetration, with nearly nine out of ten adults purchasing chocolate bars or similar products on a regular or semi-regular basis. However, the market’s large size, its abundance of products and the dominance of well known brands means that potential for growth is limited.
Despite the recent economic downturn, the confectionery market has maintained a strong position. The industry reacted quickly to the recession by introducing a number of value and budget items, and increasing the number of promotions and discounts in order to attract cash strapped consumers. As a result, consumer demand has remained high and the confectionery market exited recession relatively unscathed.
