Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s UK Chocolate Confectionery Market Report 2023. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, the latest UK chocolate market research, trends and consumer behaviours affecting your business. Get a 360° view of the UK chocolate market, including market size, share and forecasted growth to help you align your business strategy with the needs of your audience.
Topics Analysed in this Report
- Performance of the UK chocolate market and the impact of the rising cost of living, including changes in the frequency of UK chocolate consumption.
- Key trends in recent launch activity and future product development opportunities.
- Buying factors most important when buying chocolate for oneself and as a gift for someone else.
- Consumer behaviours and attitudes related to chocolate, including ways of making the chocolate aisle more enticing, and its affordability as a mood booster and gift option
- Usage of selected brands in the UK chocolate market and attitudes towards them.
UK Chocolate Market Overview
Volume retail sales of chocolate confectionery have slipped back down 3% in 2023, which is in line with the falling frequency of UK chocolate consumption. A contributing factor is that the HFSS product location restrictions have reduced in-store visibility of chocolate and dented impulse buying of it in supermarkets.
UK Chocolate Market: Challenges and Opportunities
Focus on quality ingredients
Highlighting quality ingredients remains a key opportunity for chocolate brands to drive interest among gift buyers. In addition, chocolate’s strong image as a good option as an gift compared to most other gifts will help buoy demand during the income squeeze.
- UK chocolate consumption stat: 36% of chocolate consumers agree that they look for high-quality ingredients when they purchase gifts.
HFSS restrictions
The introduction of the HFSS restrictions in 2022 ramps up the need to make the chocolate aisle more enticing, with consumer interest in branded and price promotion bays highlighting these as key means to grab shoppers’ attention to draw them into the aisle.
- Chocolate market research stat: 81% of chocolate consumers would like to see all chocolate products that are on offer grouped together in the chocolate aisle.
Purchase our UK Chocolate Confectionery Market Report to receive a five-year forecast, consumer behaviour analysis, and recommendations for market opportunities. Readers of this report may also be interested in our The Future of Chocolate, Sugar and Gum 2023.
Leading Brands in the UK Chocolate Market
Hotel Chocolat, Thorntons, Milka, Aero, Galaxy, Lindt, Cadbury’s.
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Expert Insights from a Food Analyst
This report, written by Richard Caines, a leading research analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight trends in the UK chocolate market and add expert context to the numbers.
Volume sales of chocolate have declined, and there is a need to make supermarket chocolate aisles more enticing, to increase both impulse buying and gifting sales.
Richard Caines
Senior Food & Drink Analyst
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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the chocolate confectionery market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Graph 1: how often people try to eat healthily, 2018-22
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 2: frequency of eating chocolate, 2020-23
- Graph 3: types of chocolate eaten, 2022-23
- Graph 4: buying factors which would make consumers buy one product over another for chocolate, by occasion, 2023
- Graph 5: behaviours related to eating and buying chocolate, 2023
- Graph 6: attitudes towards chocolate, 2023
- Innovation and marketing
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Graph 7: retail market size for chocolate, by volume, 2018-23
- Graph 8: retail market size for chocolate, by value, 2018-23
- Market forecast
- Graph 9: total UK retail volume and value sales of chocolate*, 2010-15
- Market segmentation
- Market share
- Macro-economic factors
- Graph 10: GDP, 2021-23
- Graph 11: CPI inflation rate, 2021-23
- Graph 12: consumer price inflation for all food and chocolate, 2022-23
- Graph 13: “Have you been affected by any of these issues over the last two months? Please select all that apply.”, 2023
- Graph 14: attiudes towards chocolate and affordability, by financial situation, 2023
- Graph 15: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-23
- Graph 16: the financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Social, environmental and legal factors
- Graph 17: how often people try to eat healthily, 2018-22
- Graph 18: trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2018-28
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Usage frequency for chocolate
- Graph 19: frequency of eating chocolate, 2020-23
- Graph 20: frequency of eating chocolate, by age, 2023
- Graph 21: frequency of eating chocolate, by financial situation, 2023
- Types and varieties of chocolate eaten
- Graph 22: types of chocolate eaten, 2020-23
- Graph 23: number of different types of chocolate eaten in the last three months, by age, 2023
- Graph 24: varieties of chocolate eaten, 2019 and 2023
- Graph 25: consumers eating of more than one variety of chocolate, 2023
- Buying factors for chocolate by occasion
- Graph 26: buying factors which would make consumers buy one product over another for chocolate, by occasion, 2023
- Graph 27: those consumers saying that ‘favourite brand’ would make them buy one product over another when buying for themselves, by age, 2023
- Graph 28: buying factors which would make those not influenced by a favourite brand when buying chocolate for themselves buy one product over another, 2023
- Graph 29: those influenced by a favourite flavour and new flavour when buying for themselves, by age, 2023
- Graph 30: those influenced by low price, by occasion, 2021 and 2023
- Behaviours related to eating and buying chocolate
- Graph 31: behaviours related to eating and buying chocolate, 2023
- Graph 32: factors influencing choice when buying food/drink as a gift, 2022
- Graph 33: top five factors influencing choice of one chocolate product over another when buying as a gift for someone else, 2023
- Attitudes towards chocolate
- Graph 34: attitudes towards chocolate, 2023
- Graph 35: behaviours and attitudes related to eating and buying chocolate, by age, 2023
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Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Graph 36: launches in UK chocolate market making vegan/no animal ingredients, dairy-free and plant-based claims, 2018-23
- Graph 37: launches in the UK chocolate market making low/reduced sugar and high/added fibre claims, 2018-23
- Graph 38: average sugar content of chocolate confectionery launches, 2015-23
- Graph 39: launches in the UK chocolate market making seasonal, premium and limited edition claims, 2018-23
- Graph 40: launches in UK chocolate market, by varieties (in product description), 2018-23
- Graph 41: launches in the UK chocolate market, by flavour component, 2018-23
- Graph 42: launches in the UK chocolate market, by texture, 2018-23
- Graph 43: launches in the UK chocolate market making selected ethical/sustainable claims, 2018-23
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Graph 44: above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on chocolate, 2019-23
- Graph 45: above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on chocolate, by advertiser, 2019-23
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Brand Research
- Graph 46: eating of brands in the last 12 months, 2023
- Graph 47: Image of of selected brands on being accessible or exclusive, 2023
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Appendix
- Market share
- Launch activity and innovation
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Methodology
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