British market for chocolate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

British market for chocolate - Essay Example The international as well as the national brand owners of chocolates in Britain are hugely concerned with tailoring their brands for local markets; and to meet the customer needs and desires. The customers in Britain market have a hard time describing their needs and desires regarding their choice and understanding for chocolateThere is just an imagination and desirable understanding to meet their needs by various chocolate brands. But various brands say that they’ve formulated the chocolate to suit the palate of British public which is more used to milk chocolates. Chocolate customers in Britain have started understanding of too much vegetable fat and sugar content in chocolates. Also, various manufacturers in other European countries have always been scathing of British chocolates for containing too little cocoa and too much vegetable fat. And the consumption is also slowing down as health and diet concerns are impacting sales. According to a market analyst Datamonitor the c ustomers now desire for low or â€Å"sugar-free and low carbohydrate products† and now the pace of growth in chocolate consumption is slated down. And the major players in the field – â€Å"Cadbury Schweppes, Masterfoods, and Nestle† have increasingly launched new low carbohydrate and sugar-free products. Customers of chocolate in Britain used to consider it as one of the â€Å"guilty pleasures†. But now it is no more considered so. ... (3) Now one of three British consumers (36%) want chocolates with health benefits and have understood the heath related issues connected to chocolate consumption. As per the European Consumer Survey conducted by Barry Callebaut - 'Predict Fast - Growing Demand for Healthy Chocolate', "38% consumers want chocolate with naturally reduced sugar". They also believe that chocolates can have positive psychological and physical influences on their well being - "6% of British consumers think it to be good for the memory", "23% think these boosts the morale and vitalises(20%) you", "15% think it is good for memory" and 7% consumers think that "it is good for the heart and the cardiovascular system." (4) Brand or Product Positioning of Chocolates in British Market In today's market, brands and their positioning has become the major issue. Brands are now increasingly thought to be powerful weapons to attract consumers and to make them loyal customers. Recently conducted survey by U.K's Centre for Brand Analysis (CBA) in July, 2008 proved a great flight of Green & Black brand and the drop down of many others as Mars which "fell out of the top 100, dropping 117 places to 175". Cadbury slid from 10th position to 19th whereas Lindt and Thornton's both rose up with Thornton's moving to 18th position. And it has been concluded by CBA that the brands which want to remain fighting in the field of chocolate should firmly possess the most valuable asset - the dark chocolate, but fairly sweet and of low sugar for British consumers. Mintel, the analyst stated that, "even though people are still cutting back on the amount of chocolate they eat, sales in the two years to 2007 saw no less than 10 percent increase in