Confectionery in Western Europe

Putting Western Europe into context

With less than 0.5% growth, Western Europe has been one of the slowest growing regions over 2011-2016. That said, the market is highly saturated. With per capita spend on confectionery exceeding USD106, it has the highest spend on confectionery anywhere in the world. Health concerns, in particular the growing popularity of reduced sugar diets, prompt consumers to switch to savoury snacks and yoghurt, creating one of the primary barriers to increased consumption. Confectionery is the most popular snack type in Western Europe. Consumers in Germany, Austria and the UK consume more than five times as much confectionery as the global average.

A handful of markets provide the majority of the region’s dynamism

While Western Europe’s overall growth has been lacklustre, Germany accounted for over 65% of region’s growth over 2011-2016, due largely to the increasing popularity of chocolate pouches and bags which carry a higher retail price than tablets or countlines. The UK has also shown positive growth as consumers increasingly opt for premium variants. Ferrero and Lindt both recorded double-digit growth in the UK with Ferrero upping its investment through the acquisition of Thorntons. Turkey was another top performer. While having a much lower base than Germany and the UK, annual average growth over 2002-2021 exceeds 2% making it the third largest contributor to growth. Over 2016-2021, Germany, the UK, Turkey along with France will increase their contribution to growth.

European consumers have a clear preference for chocolate

Chocolate is by far the most popular confectionery type in the region. In Germany, the UK and France, Western Europe’s biggest markets, consumer spend on chocolate is more than twice than that on sugar and almost 10 times as much as that on gum. Moreover, with the exception of Germany and Italy, chocolate is the only confectionery type that has shown a positive growth over 2002-2016. In Turkey, chocolate sales exceeded sugar confectionery sales in 2010, and reach over USD1 billion in 2016. While children are the main target group for sugar confectionery, chocolate appeals to a much wider audience and lends itself much better to innovation. Although birth rates are set to slow down in the region, chocolate’s popularity is likely to continue into 2021.