Why Do Consumers Love Chocolate?

Why consumers love chocolate

Why Do Consumers Love Chocolate?

People around the world love chocolate. While this likely doesn’t come as a surprise, there is more to it than you might expect. Chocolate is a multi-sensorial product that appeals to our five senses thanks to its combination of color, snap, mouthfeel and its complexity of flavors and aromas. Discover the key reasons people consume chocolate and what they look for in chocolate products below!

Chocolate is Inherently Linked with Indulgence

As the biggest chocolate company in the world, we investigated the key reasons consumers eat chocolate.  The reasons we discovered are on the indulgence side:

  • # 1 : Treat myself: 51% of global consumers1 said they eat chocolate to treat themselves. This shows consumers see chocolate as an all around pleasure.
  • # 2 : Satisfy a craving: The reason that 47% of global consumers1 indicated for eating chocolate was to satisfy a craving. Chocolate can also be an energy-fueling food.
  • # 3 : To indulge: For 45% of global consumers1, they eat chocolate to indulge. Chocolate is the ultimate mood-boosting food.

When asked which product they would choose to consume if they were to celebrate something (ex. for a birthday, promotion, anniversary, a small celebration just because, etc), 51% of global consumers said chocolate!1

Havanna truffles and pralines with dulce de leche

HAVANNA (Brazil) - Comforting truffles and pralines with dulce de leche

Love cocoa champagne chocolate tablet

LOVE COCOA (UK) - Celebration tablet with champagne

Hands off my Chocolate

HANDS OFF MY CHOCOLATE (The Netherlands) - The name says it all

Flavor is a Key Consideration

Every year, thousands of chocolate products are launched across the world. From tablets, to pralines, bars and other experiences, consumers crave novelty.

Across the globe, milk chocolate is the preferred type of chocolate (48% of consumers), followed by dark (28%).1 But don’t forget Ruby chocolate, launched in 2017, it’s the newest chocolate type that excites younger generations with its natural pink tone.

Today, consumers have high expectations when it comes to indulgence. While it’s about all the senses, taste is always the first criteria of purchase when it comes to chocolate confectionery with 67% of global consumers saying flavor is the most important factor in helping them decide which chocolate to purchase. Reason #2 is how indulgent the product looks (37%) and reason #3 is interestingly about sugar content (23%).1

Preferred chocolate types chart

Mindful Indulgence: The Future of Chocolate

Even though indulging and celebrating remains very important to consumers, they increasingly want to take care of their own personal health. Our research has shown that 78% of consumers agree that chocolate needs to be tasty and good for me.1 This has been reinforced by the pandemic. At the same time, they want to care for other people and the environment. We call this Mindful Indulgence. The triple play: tasty and good for me and the planet (= the environment and other people). Such products can be created in multiple ways: with plant-based ingredients only, reducing sugar, organic products, or sustainable products. But they need to taste great, too!

Cadbury Plant Bar chocolate tablets

CADBURY PLANT BAR (UK)

Made with almond milk, two indulgent flavors: Smooth Chocolate and Salted Caramel and 100% sustainably sourced.

Joy Bites Russel Stover peanut butter

JOY BITES by RUSSEL STOVER (USA)

No sugar added, positively framed. Comes in a range of delicious flavors: peanut butter, sea salt & caramel, roasted almonds or smooth creamy chocolate.

Risa chocolate tablet

RISA (Philippines)

Supports small-scale Filipino farmers by keeping its whole bean to bar production process strictly local.

Source:

1 - Barry Callebaut proprietary consumer survey fielded digitally in August 2022 using Qualtrics, in Brazil, China, Japan, Germany, France, UK and US, n=2969

Trends & Insights