“We estimated a 15 percent increase for this year, or sales worth €2.5-3 million in terms of retail prices. The chocolate market will continue its upward trend throughout this year, as consumption is low compared to the European average [2 kg per capita compared to 7 kg in the European Union],” Narcis Costache, Country Manager of Wawel Romania, told Business Standard.
The latest survey by the Nielsen market research company indicates that chocolate consumption rose by an annual five percent in the first two months of 2009, “less than the annual growth rate registered in 2008, of 9-10 percent, but understandable in conditions of economic recession,” said Costache.
“We found a niche where we have almost no competition. I am referring to the bittersweet chocolate segment. We have the only chocolate with 90 percent cocoa on the local market, as well as other products with special compositions and recipes, such as ones with eggnog cream, chestnut cream, or plums in chocolate and the sugar free chocolate product range,” Costache added.
The bittersweet chocolate segment is estimated to be worth less than €30 mln, making up some 8-9 percent of the Romanian chocolate market, said the company official. “The bittersweet chocolate is a segment which has potential, because the Romanian chocolate market is presently dominated by milk chocolates,” Wawel Romania’s Country Manager said.
The value of the total sweets market in Romania amounted to RON 1.17 billion (€318 mln), according to Nielsen, up 27.7 percent year-on-year from 2007. The top five producers on the chocolate tablet market are Kraft, Supreme Chocolat, Cadbury, Ferrero, and Heidi Chocolat.
