1.1 Definition and scope of study

France remains one of the most interesting markets for cocoa and chocolate products. Indeed, there is a long tradition of chocolate consumption in the country, in many forms - bars, cocoa powder, sweets... - specific to Western Europe, which, along with the United States, is the main consumer centre.

Overall, manufacturing is still particularly concentrated in the hands of large multinationals such as Nestlé and Lindt. However, many French craftsmen and SMEs succeed in bringing traditional and French products to life.

The deterioration of the image of chocolate among consumers (a food that is bad for your health) has led to a drop in consumption in France. As a result, French SMEs have had limited means to develop. This has also encouraged multinationals (Nestlé, Mondelez...) to make acquisitions in order to consolidate their position.

To cope with this, the market has embarked on the development of premium, more personalised and dietetic products, which creates a differentiating element in relation to the products of private labels and multinationals.

1.2 Growing world market, difficulties in Europe

The production of cocoa beans is very demanding, as it requires a hot climate all year round, as well as high humidity and heavy rainfall (***). These conditions are mostly met by tropical forests. This explains why cocoa production is carried out in few different countries. Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana alone ...

1.3 A French market with solid fundamentals

As seen in the part *.* of this study, the French are the sixth biggest consumers of Chocolate in the world, with *.*kg of chocolate consumed per capita in ****, way above the European average of *kg per person [***].

The French chocolate market has reached a maturity phase, where its growth is very ...

1.4 A market dependent on imports

The balance of trade related to chocolate and chocolate products is particularly in deficit, with a coverage rate of only **% in **** (***). This reflects a significant dependence of the French market on foreign imports, particularly for the chocolate candy and chocolate bars, bars and sticks segments. [***]

Imports of cocoa and cocoa products France, ...

1.5 Les effets positif de la Covid-19 sur le marché du chocolat et de la chocolaterie

Chiffre d'affaires de ces trois catégories lors de la période du confinement France, * avril au * mai ****, en % Source: ****

La crise sanitaire et les confinements ont accentué la vente de produits chocolatés. En effet, les Français ont cherché plusieurs moyens de se détendre pendant le confinement et ...

2.1 A regular and substantial consumption of chocolate

The average French budget for chocolate is around €*** per year per person, which is explained by a high consumption of chocolate products, divided between bars, spreads and bars (***). [***]

Sales of different chocolate products France, ****, in billions of € Source: ****

In fact, each French person consumes an average of *.** kg of chocolate each ...

2.2 The French favourite chocolates

The French say they prefer chocolate in some forms more than others. Thus, the bars are appreciated by nearly */* of French people aged **. As for fondant, soft and pain au chocolat, they are appreciated by more than **% of the population. [***]

It is important to note that preferences change significantly with age. ...

2.3 Chocolate and Holidays

An important dimension of chocolate is its consumption during the holidays (***). The first two holidays alone account for **.*% of chocolate consumption over the year. [***]

Indeed, **% of French people say they couldn't do without chocolate during the holiday season (***). [***]

Breakdown of chocolate consumption depending on the time of year France, ****, in % Source: ...

2.4 Towards healthier food consumption

CHD-Expert carried out a study on the evolution of the food consumption of the French. [***] She identified several trends at work:

The Vegan trend, which is lived as a philosophy of life, concerns only *% of the French. The more general healthy trend, which concerns more and more French people. Eating healthy ...

2.5 Les chocolateries et tablettes de chocolat préférés des Français

Le graphique ci-dessous a été obtenu à partir du sondage mené par OpinionWay au sujet des marques préférées des Français en mars ****. Il s'agit des réponses des sondés à la question "aimez-vous telle chocolaterie ?" pour chaque enseigne, le pourcentage correspond à la part de sondés ayant répondu ...

3.1 A relatively concentrated market

It is possible to distinguish * types of manufacturers on the chocolate and chocolate factory market in France. [***]

The main ones are foreign multinationals (***), which have processing plants in France and abroad and export their products to France. Their main advantage is that they have brands that are known by consumers, distributed ...

3.2 Chocolate production

The production of chocolate is a relatively long and complex process, spread over several months and often several countries. It is important to distinguish the stages of cultivation, processing, chocolate manufacturing and then distribution. [***]

With crushing, roasting and grinding, the cocoa powder is extracted from the beans, then mixed and refined ...

3.3 Sales made mainly in supermarkets and hypermarkets

Most of the chocolate products marketed in France are sold in supermarkets and hypermarkets (***). This is partly due to the fact that the major brands, owned by the multinationals, do not generally have their own stores. The rest of the sales happen through small retailers, petrol stations, kiosks, bakeries, etc. [***]

On ...

4.1 A very wide variety of products

It is possible to make a first distinction between cocoa and chocolate products according to the type of chocolate used for manufacture. The most common chocolates are dark and milk chocolate. They differ from each other in their cocoa, cocoa butter, milk and sugar content.

Source: ****

Then, these types of chocolates ...

4.2 Relatively stable prices

The prices of sugar, jam, chocolate and ice cream increased very little between **** and **** (***). [***]

Price index of : sugar, jam, chocolate and ice cream France, ****-****, based *** in **** Source: ****

However, in the chocolate products sector, the strategy adopted by manufacturers has been twofold. Firstly, some have repressed their prices via the adoption ...

4.3 Premiumisation of chocolate

Some changes are noticeable on the side of manufacturers of cocoa and chocolate products, particularly with the development of organic and premiumisation.

The organic trend

Today **% of French people consider the mention "organic" to be important for chocolate (***). This contrasts with the stagnation or even decline in sales in the sector. ...

5.1 Regulation of cocoa and chocolate products

Cocoa and chocolate products are subject to the regulations laid down in European Directive ****/**/EC, which covers in particular the composition and labelling of products. [***]

The regulations distinguish between * main categories of products:

The cacaos The chocolates Chocolate candies

The cocoa butter content of cocoa powder is a minimum of **% for ...