CONFECTIONERY TRENDS
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Suzanne Callander explores some of the key confectionery trends that are affecting the sector today, highlighting the importance of innovating when it comes to product development in order to catch the attention of consumers.
t seems that the confectionery industry has been hit by a perfect storm comprising an ongoing cost- of-living crisis, supply chain issues, and a need for greater sustainability due to climate change concerns, along with ever more rapidly
changing consumer demands. This has required confectioners to move with the times and shake up their product offerings. The good news is that, revenue in the confectionery segment amounted to US$1.11tn in 2023 with the market expected to grow annually by 4.77% (CAGR 2023-2027), according to figures from Statista. “While it’s hard to predict just how the combination of the ongoing cost of living crisis will impact the wider food and drink industry, we can say for certain that West African cocoa production has been hit by bad weather, disease and failing trees – leading to cocoa prices having risen from $2,500 per tonne (a year ago),
32 Kennedy’s Confection April 2024
to now currently trading at $10,500 per tonne, meaning that chocolate has almost doubled in price,” says Carol Oldbury, Managing Director at Hames Chocolates.
Carol believes that this is very likely to affect chocolate’s popularity as prices will have to rise because manufacturers will not be able to absorb all of this increase, resulting in retail price rises.
Also commenting on the rising cost of
cocoa, Joke Aerts, Open Chain Lead at Tony’s Chocolonely, says: “We have all felt the effects of global inflation. The cost of living is going up and the price of most things, including chocolate, is rising along with it. However, it is important to remember that the cost of cocoa farming is also becoming exponentially more expensive, with an emphasis being placed on increasing productivity, alongside the negative effect that climate change is having on production. No one wants to celebrate things
becoming more expensive, but the increasing cost of cocoa is actually something Tony’s are happy about, as long as it is the farmers that get paid more, because they need to be paid more! “With 60% of the world’s cocoa coming from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the current farmgate price – the amount paid to cocoa farmers for their cocoa – is far below the amount needed to enable cocoa farmers in West Africa to earn a living income,” continues Joke. “Especially with the rising prices of fertilizers and other farm inputs, and the negative effect of climate change on productivity. It is important to remember that the high prices on the cocoa trading market don’t necessarily mean that higher prices are being paid to cocoa farmers and this results in devastating consequences, such as 1.5 million children working illegally on cocoa farms. “As part of our 5 Sourcing Principles, Tony’s Chocolonely and its mission allies always pay a
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Moving with the
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