Chocolate manufacturers suffering from a dip in sales of seasonal
products should consider introducing products for lesser holidays,
including traditionally ethnic celebrations, according to Mintel.
A cool spring and late Easter has contributed to booming business
at Swiss chocolate maker Lindt, who announced it has more than
doubled its profits in the first half.
Seasonal Easter sales helped sell more than a quarter of America's
gourmet chocolate last year, and during the next four years will
help drive overall sales to nearly $1.8 billion, according to a new
report.
Humble pie, stuffed peacock and sugar mice have left our Christmas
tables seemingly never to return. But what was it that forever
pushed such dishes from our hearts and feasting?
Forget the family 'bored' games this Christmas. It's time to get
down to the local orchard with a slice of toast, a loaded gun and a
big bowl of steaming Wassail for some real festive tradition.
Confectionery companies could always count on consumers to boost
sales at Christmas and other holiday seasons, but a report
published by Mintel adds more support to the notion that consumer
trends are changing.
Seasonal chocolate sales in the US are forecast to reach $3.3bn
(€2.6bn) in 2005, marking a substantial decline over the past five
years, according to a new report published by Research and Markets.
Elizabeth Shaw, the UK confectioner, is set to exploit the
burgeoning trend for luxury chocolates, launching a revamped
packaging line in time to penetrate the lucrative Christmas market,
Tom Armitage reports.
Last summer's hot weather had a major impact on sales at Thorntons,
the British confectionery retailer and manufacturer, but the
company had a lot more to be happy about when it came to Christmas.
Food giant Cargill has acquired OCG Cacao, a major supplier of
industrial chocolate to the European food industry. The deal, which
was initially announced in September, has been completed following
the necessary regulatory approvals.
Following the launch of schnapps and tequila shot chocolates last
month, Elizabeth Shaw has launched its latest innovation, Illusion,
a new chocolate combination for the Christmas market.
With a marked surge in confectionery sales at Halloween Haribo
Dunhills (Pontefract) has plenty of treats in store this year for
retailers who want to increase their profits.
Christmas sales fell compared to the particularly strong
performance in the previous year, but UK chocolate manufacturer and
retailer Thorntons said it was happy with its overall performance
in the first half of 2002/03.
A slowdown in biscuit sales of around 6 per cent took its toll on
third quarter results at Northern Foods, the UK's leading producer
of own label foods for the supermarket sector. But while there is
little sign of improvement...
Cadbury Schweppes is the focus of our latest visit to the Mintel
Global New Products Database, and the last few months have
been busy ones for the UK confectionery group. Christmas products,
movie tie-ins and an increasing range of...
Thorntons, the UK chocolate maker and retailer, has continued to
post good like-for-like sales growth in the first four months of
the financial year, but Christmas will be the key test of its
business plan.
