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Summary of our market study
The organic chocolate market in France is valued at over €200 million.
The European chocolate market is worth over €15 billion and is expected to grow at a rate of 3.5%. The UK, Germany and France are the main markets.
The chocolate budget of French consumers averages €270 per person per year, with an average consumption of 7.31 kg per person per year.
Worldwide demand for organic chocolate is estimated at over $830 million, with an annual growth rate of 6%.
Organic chocolate costs around twice as much as traditional chocolate. European regulations require at least 95% organic ingredients.
France imports over 40% of its chocolate consumption.
changing preferences and seasonal peaks in the French chocolate landscape.
In the mature French market, where growth rates are low due to high per capita consumption (ranked 6th in Europe), buyers are showing a growing penchant for organic products. Average annual growth is around 12.4%.
French consumers spend between 250 and 300 euros a year on chocolate. Over 80% of the population claim to enjoy chocolate at least once a week, and almost a third every day.
Bar chocolate appeals to almost two-thirds of the population, particularly the over-55s, while young people prefer processed chocolate products.
Dark and milk chocolates are consumers' favorites. Men show a clear preference for dark chocolate over milk chocolate.
Christmas and Easter alone account for 10% and 5% respectively of chocolatiers' annual sales.
Supermarkets are the main distribution channel.
Organic chocolates account for 4% of the French chocolate market, and 9% in the bar category. They are distinguished by their "AB" label
The Alter Eco and Ethiquable brands are the market leaders, with sales of nearly 30 million euros each.
Leaders of the organic chocolate market in France.
- Alter Eco, a brand of the Ecotone group.
- Ethiquable, a cooperative
- Cémoi dominates the organic chocolate bar segment in private labels
- Organic and ecological retailers Biocoop, Biomonde and La Vie Claire offer organic chocolate
- Ferrero, Lindt & Sprüngli, Mondelez and Mars dominate the chocolate market and are committed to offering organic chocolate.
- Kaoka, Ombar and Moulin des Moines target a growing niche of consumers looking for variety and specialty in their organic chocolate consumption.
- Vijaya, Rapunzel and Vahiné, meet the demand for organic chocolate ingredients - such as chocolate chips - aimed at both amateur cooks and professional chefs.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of the study
The chocolate called "organic" is a chocolate labeled "AB" in accordance with European regulations, ie at least 95% of the ingredients used are from organic farming [Eur-Lexthis means that at least 95% of the ingredients used are organically grown, without chemical additives, and that the cocoa beans have not been treated with pesticides or GMOs. [Bioconsumers].
The organic chocolate market can be divided into different product categories
- Chocolate bars (pastry bars, bars with ingredients, tasting bars)
- Spreads
- Chocolate bars
- Confectionery
- Cocoa powder
Although France is a key market for the chocolate industry and is ranked 6th in terms of per capita consumption (all products combined), the market is mature, with low growth rates
In this context, the organic segment represents a significant growth relay, surfing on more sustainable consumption habits and concerns about the ecological issue within society.
The French organic chocolate market is fragmented, composed of a wide variety of players: multinational groups, SMEs and artisans. Logically, the chocolate segment attracts major organic players and some French companies, such as Alter Éco, play a leading role.
1.2 Chocolates, organic products and organic chocolates in the world
The production of cocoa beans is very demanding, since it requires a warm climate all year round, as well as high humidity accompanied by significant rainfall (***). These conditions are mostly met in tropical forests. This explains why cocoa production is carried out in few different countries. The Ivory Coast and Ghana ...
1.3 Overview of the French market
Key figures of the chocolate market
The chocolate union, in its complete infographic for the year **** estimates the sales of chocolate in supermarkets at*,*** million euros, with ***,*** tons of chocolate sold. [***]
Overview of the organic market in France
France is the*nd European country in sales of organic products, behind ...
1.4 Trade balance
The trade balance related to chocolate and chocolate factories is particularly deficient, with a coverage ratio of only **% in **** (***). This reflects a significant dependence of the French market on foreign imports, especially for the segments of chocolate candies and chocolate bars and sticks. [***]
Exports and imports of cocoa and cocoa products France, ...
2 Analysis of the demand
2.1 Key figures for chocolate consumption in France
The average budget of the French for chocolate is about *** € per year and per person, this is explained by a high consumption of chocolate products, divided between bars, spreads and bars (***).[***]
Turnover of the chocolate segments France, ****, € billion Source: ****
In fact, each French person consumes an average of *.** kg of chocolate ...
2.2 French preferences by chocolate product
The French declare that they prefer chocolate in certain forms more than others. Thus, bars are appreciated by nearly */* of the French ** years old. The fondant, soft and chocolate breads are appreciated by more than **% of the population. [***]
It is important to note that preferences change significantly with age. While bars ...
2.3 Cyclicality of demand and organic chocolate craze
According to the Syndicat National du Chocolatsales of chocolates take place mainly at Christmas and Easter. These two periods cumulate respectively **.*% and *.*% of the turnover of chocolate makers
Share of organic chocolate in the total chocolate market France, **** - ****, in % Source: ****
The organic chocolate market has shown impressive growth in recent ...
3 Market structure
3.1 A fragmented market
The chocolate market in France is made up of *** companies, **% of which are SMEs. **% of chocolate employees work in industrial production, i.e. ** *** jobs for ** *** employees in the chocolate market (***).
Two French leaders in the organic chocolate segment
Although the chocolate market, and a fortiori that of organic chocolate, is an ...
3.2 The organic sweet goods department
The various products of the organic chocolate market are grouped within the organic sweet grocery at various retailers (***).
In ****, the Organic grocery department represented **% of the total sales of organic products in France at GMS (***), i.e. *.* billion out of *.* billion euros in total. Organic sweet groceries grew by **% in value ...
3.3 Chocolate production chain
The production chain of the chocolate industry can be summarized as follows:
Source: ****
Cocoa production
More than ***,*** hectares of cocoa were produced organically in ****. This represents *.*% of the total area cultivated for cocoa.
The majority of cultivated areas are located in Africa (***). [***]
Democratic Republic of Congo (***) Sierra Leone (***) Dominican Republic (***) Peru ...
3.3 Le rayon épicerie bio
Les différents produits du marché du chocolat bio sont regroupés au sein de l’épicerie sucrée Bio chez les différents revendeurs (***).
En ****, le rayon épicerie Bio représentait **% du chiffre d’affaires total des produits bio en France chez les GMS (***), soit *,* milliards sur *,* milliards d’euros ...
3.5 A concentrated market
An overview of the market
It is possible to distinguish * types of manufacturers in the chocolate and chocolate factory market in France. [***]
Distribution of the number of companies by size and number France, ****, in % Source: ****
The main ones are the foreign multinationals (***), which have processing plants in France and abroad, and ...
4 Analysis of the offer
4.1 Organic chocolate/chocolate product lines
In its latest infographic, the Syndicat du Chocolat breaks down the sales of chocolate products into * product categories:
Chocolate bars (***) Chocolate spreads (***) Chocolate bars (***) Confectionery (***) Cocoa powder (***)
Chocolate bars
A distinction is generally made between pastry bars (***). Organic chocolate is perfectly illustrated in these three categories, with the highest penetration rates ...
4.2 Average price
According to Simon Kucherorganic chocolate is generally twice as expensive as traditional chocolate. However, this depends greatly on the brand of the product.
Basic organic chocolate bars are sold at around *.*€ per *** grams in private labels [***], pastry chocolate can be enjoyed from *€ per kilogram, while products from recognized brands such as ...
5 Regulation
5.1 Regulations
The composition for each category of chocolate in cocoa and cocoa butter is delimited by the Codex Stan **-****, Rev.* -****.
The introduction of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter is also controlled with a threshold of *% of the total weight of the bar with a clear indication on the product ...
6 Positioning of the actors
6.1 Segmentation
- Ecotone Groupe (Alter Eco, Bjorg, Bonneterre)
- Ethiquable
- Jardin Bio (Léa Nature)
- Cémoi (Sweet Products)
- Biocoop
- Biomonde
- La Vie Claire
- Ferrero
- Lindt & Sprungli
- Mondelez Groupe
- Jean Louis Boyère Vijaya
- Vahiné (McCormic France)
- Kaoka
- Ombar
- Moulin Meckert (Moulin des Moines)
- Nestlé Groupe
- Mars Group
- Les Biolonistes
- Rapunzel
List of charts presented in this market study
- Countries' share of world cocoa production by volume
- Market trends for chocolate and chocolate factories
- 3 largest exporters of chocolate bars in Volume
- Principales origines des imports de cacao bio en UE
- Taille du marché du chocolat bio
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Latest news
Ferrero pursues its breakthrough in frozen foods with the launch of a nutella ice cream - 23/05/2024
- - Launch of Ferrero ice cream brand in Europe: 2021
- - Launch of Kinder ice creams in partnership with Unilever: 2018
- - First Ferrero ice cream products: Ferrero Rocher and Raffaello (round, crunchy sticks)
- - Relaunch of Kinder ice creams with in-house production: 2022
- - Consumption of Kinder Bueno ice creams: 1.4 million consumers in 2023
- - Sales of Kinder Bueno ice creams: 13.6 million euros in 2023
Organic crisis: the worst is over for the owner of Bjorg and Alter Eco - 28/03/2024
- Ecotone, European leader in organic products,
- Bjorg, Bonneterre and Alter Eco chocolate brands
- Group sales were stable at 693 million euros, but down 6% in volume.
- Three quarters of Ecotone's business is with supermarket chains, which account for 53% of market share.
- Two plants in France and seven others in Italy, Spain, England and Germany
- 1.600 employees
Optimistic for the future, Biocoop announces encouraging results - 08/03/2024
- Organic cooperative chain sales: 1.5 billion euros
- - Sales up: 2.3% (+3.1% at constant base)
- - Volume contraction: 4 to 5%
- - Biocoop market share: up 2 points to 43.9%
- - Number of Biocoop stores: 739 by the end of 2023
- - Number of Biocoop employees: 6,600
- - Number of Biocoop store closures: 39
- - Number of Biocoop store openings: 13 - 87% of Biocoop's products come from France
Biocoop announces the end of the organic crisis - 08/03/2024
- - Organic prices are on average 50% higher than those of conventional products.
- - Sales of organic products plunged by 4% in France in 2022, and by 13% in major supermarket chains in the first half of 2023.
- - Biocoop sales grew by 2.3% in 2023.
- - Biocoop gained 2 points of market share among specialists, reaching 45% in 2023.
- - Biocoop closed 39 of its 298 stores in 2023.
Nestlé sells its Natur baby food products to FNB - 06/02/2024
- nestlé is the world's number one food company.
- FNB is a French investment fund specializing in small and medium-sized food companies.
- Nestlé is in exclusive negotiations with FNB to sell its infant food business in France.
- The products concerned are NaturNes potties, Babicao and Babivanille infant powders, and the P'tit yogurt range.
- These products are manufactured at the Arches plant.
- Worldwide sales of Nestlé infant formulas rose by more than 10%.
Nestlé France sells its baby food products to Mousline - 02/02/2024
- Nestlé is in exclusive negotiations with the French investment fund FnB for the sale of its infant food business.
- The ranges concerned are soups, purées, desserts and breakfast powders under the NaturNes, Babicao and Babivanille brands, as well as the P'tit franchise.
- Infant milks, the mainstay of the portfolio - with Laboratoires Guigoz and Nestlé Nidal - remain with Nestlé France.
- The infant nutrition products concerned by this sale are manufactured at a factory in the Vosges region of France, which employs 230 people.
- FnB, the potential buyer, specializes in supporting French SMEs in the food industry.
- The infant food market in France shrank by 6% in volume last year due to the drop in the birth rate, with a sharper decline for milks than for diversification foods.
- Nestlé has 14 factories in France.
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the organic chocolate market | France
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