Guilty pleasures: trends in the chocolate industry
The outlook for the world’s chocolate industry is more optimistic than it has been for the past several years. Hospitality News talks to some of the global leaders of the chocolate industry to discuss what’s trendy these days and what we can look forward to in the future
Chocolate. Even the word itself sends taste buds into overdrive and induces mouthwatering cravings. The world’s most popular food, it is consumed, on average, by an astounding one billion people each day. Needless to say, not all chocolate is made equal and today there is an even greater awareness and appetite for the absolute best of the best. In fact, the world’s most high-quality chocolatiers are experiencing an even brighter market outlook as consumers become more and more health conscious.
“The chocolate market is always in a state of continuous development,” says Alain Wehbe, export manager at Peccin, a chocolate and candies company based in Brazil. “In fact, the consumption of chocolates is growing year by year, and the consumer, for the last ten years, has been always asking for new products and better and better quality,” he adds. According to Wehbe, “the expectation for top-quality products is accompanied by a greater awareness that costumers need to pay more for them—there is a greater willingness to do so now.”
The Lebanese love chocolate
Pierre Azar, chairman and CEO of Pierre AZAR trading sal and importer of the French brand of Valrhona chocolate, agrees that there has been a very strong domestic demand for new chocolate products, which means that there are always opportunities on the horizon for those in the industry. “The Lebanese chocolate industry is doing very well,” he says optimistically. “The market is growing, especially for the high-end, artisanal and high-quality products,” he adds.
Think local
Another trend to look out for in the chocolate industry is the increasing preference by consumers for authenticity. According to Maurice Feghali, CEO of EMF Trading Ltd – Middle East Coordination Office for Barry Callebaut, these chocolates, which are dubbed “single origin chocolates” are prepared from cocoa mass with cocoa beans. The origin of the cocoa bean works on the taste (acidity, sourness, fruitiness, etc.), as each one captures the essence of its plantation and carries the aromas of the flowers, fruits and herbs, typical of the soil and the environment in which it was grown.
“What sets them apart from traditional chocolate blends is their “noble breeding” or genetic inheritance; they originate from a single geographical area or even a single plantation.”
“These products are unique because they are the result of a set of very specific conditions that only exist in the region where they are cultivated or produced,” he continues. What this means is that the taste can hardly be replicated and its exclusivity is something that appeals to chocolate connoisseurs.
Unconventional chocolate
Another trend that’s heating up in the chocolate industry is the demand by customers for new, unconventional exotic chocolate tastes to chocolate. “Creativity and design go a long way—customers now want chocolate that is uniquely crafted, especially when giving chocolate as a gift,” says Bilal Ballout, co-founder of Dubaibased BMB Group. As in life, it is the quality that matters not the quantity. “I love the saying ‘Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away.’”
The darker the better
As customers are willing to try new things, newer chocolate choices are growing in popularity. “Globally speaking, dark chocolate is becoming more popular than ever before,” says Jordi Sanahuja of BMB'S Virtue Chocolate. However, for the time being the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region seems to have a marked preference for milk chocolate. “When it comes to pralines and chocolate bars, in the Arab world, milk chocolate is strongly dominant with more than 80 percent of total consumption. Although Lebanon has been seeing a slight increase in dark chocolate consumption during the past several years (mainly extra bitter chocolate), milk chocolate still remains the most popular, with more than 70 percent of the market share…the only exception to the milk chocolate rule is that for pastry applications, dark chocolate is the dominant player…” he adds.
“As for white chocolate, and although appreciated by many in theory, volume is still very limited in the region (less than 10 percent), though it is showing an increase during the past years,” says Sanahuja.
He adds that, in contrast to the MENA region, the European continent experiences a different consumption habit, mainly in adults, where dark chocolate is the dominant player with around 60 percent of the market.
“The increased popularity is mostly related to the fact that health professionals recommend it for its anti-oxidant benefits and help with increasing concentration,” explains Issam Chrabieh, CEO of Fleuron. In fact, the good news about dark chocolate has been stacking up lately as the flavanols in the cocoa bean have proved to improve blood pressure and reduce insulin resistance in diabetic patients. “Best of all, it can even slow down the aging process,” according to Dr. Hussein F. Hassan, professor at the Lebanese American University. Not only is it delicious, but it’s good or you too — with benefits like these, everyone is a winner.