The market for chocolates, including that of domestic brands, is booming silently in Kerala. The volume of sales and consumption are growing every year and the total production of chocolate factories across the State is also on the rise.
At present, there are a dozen factories in Kerala that manufacture several variants and flavours of this delectable dark brown confection using imported chocolate-making machines with higher production capacity.
Most of the main cities in the State have dedicated chocolate outlets that sell several variants and flavours. The climate is favourable for chocolate-making in hill stations such as Munnar which has several retail outlets that sell brandless homemade chocolates.
India's chocolate market is worth about Rs 7,000 crore. It has expanded at a compounded annual growth rate of 40 per cent this year and the growth is expected to double in the next few years.
It is learnt that top chocolate brands in the State are gearing up to double their production to meet the growing demand.
Women and children are the primary consumers of chocolate among the middleclass groups in urban areas. For a majority of men, chocolate craving dies down when they enter adolescence. However, they continue to purchase them to give away as gifts to their dear and near ones.
Gifting these dark treats has become a new and chic idea among Malayalees during occasions such as wedding, anniversaries, baptism, housewarming, etc. Cute little poaches of chocolates containing three or four bars weighing 5 grams and costing Rs 20 each are given away as return gifts. You can also attach at ‘thank-you’ note to this attractively packaged gift packs. As an exquisite premium product, chocolates offers a multitude of gifting ideas to people.
Chocolates move down at a production factory of Cadbury. File photo: AP The most popular brands available in the local market are Pristine Chocolates, Cocoacraft Chocolate Factory, Cacobean Chocolatier, and Liso. As they all jostle for space in the premium segment, most of their products come with a price tag of over Rs 1,000 per kilogram.
Though setting up a chocolate manufacturing unit with machines imported from European countries like Germany would cost around Rs 3-4 crore, many came forward to invest and succeeded in establishing a customer base.
Among multi-national companies, the chocolate market in India is dominated by the British candy and confectionery company Cadbury, which holds about 62 per cent of the market share. Swiss transnational food and beverage company Nestle, which offers a wide range of chocolate and confectionary products such as KitKat, is in the second position with a market share of 18 per cent while Mars accounts for 6 per cent. Amul and Ferrero share 3 per cent of market share. About 8 per cent of the market share is divided among other international and domestic brands. The remaining three per cent is the market share held by the Kerala-based companies that continue to witness steady growth.
