Happy Easter!

UK Easter gift spending expected to be worth £590m this year.  Brits top the global chocolate eating charts, according to Mintel .  Just Love these decorated Viennese-style chocolate eggs available at The Delaunay Counter.

Happy Easter everyone.  
Hope you’ll all be eating a lot of chocolates during the holidays, and rightfully so, you will be in good company.

According to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), there has been a delicious 23% rise in Easter chocolate launches over the past year* providing a plethora of chocolate choice for Easter egg hunts across the globe.

The countries leading the way in Easter chocolate innovation include Brazil, which accounted for 11% of global Easter chocolate product launches in 2017, followed by the UK, South Africa, Germany (each with a 10% share) and France (9%).

However, it seems no one loves chocolate quite as much as the Brits across the globe. The average Brit devoured 8.4 kg worth of chocolate in 2017.  Hot on the heels of the Brits, Switzerland consumed 8.3kg, closely followed by Germany at 8.2kg.  Within the top 10 chocolate per capita consumers, Russia experienced the biggest increase at 2.2%; meanwhile, Austria reported the sharpest decline at -1.9%.

Reflecting the importance of seasonal products as a whole, in 2017, almost a quarter (23%) of global chocolate launches were positioned as seasonal, such as Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

Overall, the US and Germany lead in terms of total chocolate new product development (NPD), each accounting for 8% of new product launches in 2017. This is followed by France (7%), the UK (5%) and Brazil (4%).

Marcia Mogelonsky, Director of Insight, Mintel Food and Drink, said:“Easter represents one of those ‘permissible indulgence’ moments where consumers enjoy giving and receiving chocolate treats. The holiday also marks a time for increased innovation in confectionery as consumers seek new and novel products. In the UK, for example, Easter eggs flavoured with beer or stout, which were the rage in past years, have given way to new alternatives such as gin-and-tonic flavoured eggs. In Germany, the introduction of vegan Easter bunnies and eggs reflects the growing popularity of a plant-based diet in that country.”