Brits are European chocolate champions
With the Easter chocolate bonanza over, British consumers have once again retained their crown as Europe’s chocoholics.
According to market analyst Datamonitor, Brits chomp their way through 10kg of chocolate a year compared to just 2.2kg in Italy, which also has the lowest per head consumption of chocolate in Europe.
Last year, the UK spent a total of £4.3bn (£6.1bn) on chocolate, equating to annual
per capita expenditure of £72m (£103m). Favourite chocolate products are countlines, which make up 44 % of total volume sales, followed by moulded bars 18.5%, then boxed chocolates (16 %).
Chocolate versions of game boards are to be launched this summer, including a chocolate version of the Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble board games. Trivial Pursuit will feature chocolate question cards and a chocolate golden disk trophy for the winner.
Desire for dark chocolate is gathering pace as consumers become increasingly influenced by health and wellness. The chocolate market is expected to reflect this shift over the next five years. While the overall chocolate market is predicted to show a moderate growth of six per cent between 2005 and 2010, the dark chocolate category, which currently accounts for just three per cent of the market, will grow at an astounding 48%, says Datamonitor.
