To appeal to consumers, brands can emphasise the mood-boosting qualities of chocolate. Innovating with flavour and texture may also help engage and attract experimental consumers.
When consumers are plagued by multiple crises, chocolate functions as a mood-boosting product to many consumers. This helped the chocolate industry to offset the price increases. Moving forward, brands will have to offer added value to justify any more price hikes.
Despite rising cocoa prices, volume sales in the Germany chocolate market stabilised in 2023 after a drop in 2022, showing how consumers have become more price tolerant and value chocolate’s perceived mood-boosting properties in times of polycrisis. To justify any further price rises, however, manufacturers will need to demonstrate added value in their offerings. For example, by highlighting features such as a long tradition, a high cocoa content or sustainable ingredients.
The German government’s focus on plant-based diets provides an opportunity to market vegan chocolate more strongly to German chocolate buyers. In 2023, Lidl announced that its vegan own-label Vemondo range would be priced equally to its animal-origin products. Other retailers and brands can follow to encourage greater consumption of vegan chocolate by reducing price as a barrier.
Mintel’s Germany chocolate market research shows that there is an opportunity to innovate around flavour, as consumer spending power improves while their financial situation eases.
Key Topics Analysed in this Report
Report Scope
This market covers wrapped chocolate confectionery, tablets, individually wrapped, non-individually wrapped, seasonal, and other chocolate confectionery.
The Germany chocolate market size comprises sales through all retail channels including direct to consumer.
Mintel’s Germany chocolate market research excludes unwrapped chocolate, biscuits, cakes, and cake bars (including wafers, marshmallows, alfajores, cocoa powder, and chocolate drinks).
This report was written by Khalid Peerbaccus, Senior Analyst at Mintel. Khalid joined the German food and drink reports team at Mintel in April 2023. With more than ten years of experience in the FMCG industry and a special focus on innovation research, Khalid has a keen enthusiasm for the German market and is particularly interested in consumer behaviour and motivations.
To appeal to consumers, brands can emphasise the mood-boosting qualities of chocolate. Innovating with flavour and texture may also help engage and attract experimental consumers.
Khalid Peerbaccus
Senior Analyst – Food & Drink
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
At Jackman, we believe that powerful strategies are based on human insight. Mintel’s leading-edge reports and insights into consumer attitudes and behaviors are an important input as we develop and execute strategy.
One of the biggest challenges we face is the need to get smart on a business or category real quick.
We are talking to clients who live and breathe their category every day and the expectation is that we will be able to get caught up very quickly, and bring the thinking that can help them.
We need to do that often in a matter of days, so it’s not a small ask. Mintel gives us a very articulate view of category conditions and does so at the speed we need it.
Working in a customer-obsessed organization means that data and insights have to be at our fingertips. Mintel’s reports help us support anecdotes with real quantifiable insights. The summary sections (which I really like) helps save time by giving a birds eye view of the content before spending time combing through the pages.
Our business review discussions are strengthened by the relevancy of the reports to help us better understand our customers. In addition, the customer service received from the team (especially in crunch periods) makes the process of understanding customer behavior even better.
We use Mintel to inform our thinking and reinforce strategy. If you’re presenting new ideas, it’s essential they are underpinned by robust data and evidence, and clearly rooted in fact.
Mintel gives us all that. It’s a great brand and one that is trusted by clients.
