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Dark chocolate - Growth & popularity in Indian market
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Thursday, 15 April, 2021, 12 : 00 PM [IST]
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Sudhir Nair
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Chocolate is not just a word, it's an emotion - Love - like chocolate is bitter-sweet. For chocolate lovers, words fail because it evokes feelings of bliss within, joy within, with indulgence of partaking the sinfully sensuous feeling beyond words. Dark chocolate's entry to India was Bournville.
In the year 2021, the scenario of burgeoning and nascent industry of dark chocolate in India. The dark chocolate industry in India is alive and kicking with major players like Amul, Hershey's, Linot, Cadbury as well as 2evic, Daarzel, Nepenthe, Toblerone all vying for a share in the market of dark chocolate in India.
To get the stats right, the average Indian consumes only about hundred to 200 grams per person, whereas in comparison, Japan, consumes around 2 kg per person; Europeans consume around 5-9 kg person. Small but sure potential for future growth exists for the chocolate industry in India and according to estimates by 2023, the Indian chocolate market is projected to reach $3.3 billion by 2023.
Further statistics show that on an average Indians are consuming more chocolates than ever before. reports by Mintel (2019) showed 21 per cent said they consume chocolate daily and 61 per cent are frequent users.
The entry of the dark chocolate rising in the East, is spurred on by a number of reasons in India. The per capita income of Indians have increased and consequently so has the disposable income, Indians generally, the youth who have no hesitation when it comes to a high price tag of dark chocolate, chocolates have become a snacks option, whereas, earlier it was meant only for occasions; the Indian populace have also a new found interest in dark chocolate because of its health benefits as compared to the older brands of sweet chocolate.
The future of young India where western ideas and lifestyle are common now and considered to be the in-thing happening to eat healthy options of dark chocolate, is very promising for further prospects of dark chocolate growth in India.
Coming to the good side of dark chocolate are the numerous health benefits of nutrition where it is said that it contains many minerals like copper, magnesium, iron and manganese usually found in dark chocolate with 70 per cent of cocoa powder in the good quality dark chocolate.
The add-on benefits further are the mood and energy boosting qualities of dark chocolate, the source of anti- oxidants, lowering blood pressure, raising of hdl and protects ldl, reducing heart disease, improving brain function and protecting the skin from the sun.
All these benefits of dark chocolate information are freely available in web pages where the Indian population love to investigate, has led to a tremendous growth of 9 per cent of the chocolate (dark variety) industry India. Even though Indians have a sweet tooth, the health options of dark chocolate is an attractive option as it contains less sugar.
The trend is on for gifting expensive dark chocolates, before the pandemic people travelled abroad and came back with expensive dark chocolate and perceptions changed over night. The easy availability through sites like amazon et al, the mushrooming of dry fruit chocolate shops throughout India, the mall culture even the mulled by the pandemic, has not ebbed the tide of dark chocolate in India. Of course inflation and prices, there are challenges faced by the industries like inflation on prices, demand for innovations on dark chocolate produce uneven rainfall and dependence on drip irrigation, water logging, warmer temperatures in Kerala and Tamil Nadu will not dampen the spirits of dark chocolate crops.
The dark chocolate industry in India is an industry with a lot of promise, it is a rising dark knight in shining armour to the Indian mind-set which has accepted it with joy and love, and that's what chocolate is meant to emote 'love'.
(The author is H.O.D for Iamd Bangalore. He can be reached at sudhirnair410@gmail.com)
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