Chocolate Cutbacks in Europe
December 7, 2012
Sad stories break my heart. There are times when I hesitate to turn on the television, expecting only to see negative vibes on the daily news program. I know I have to stop being a little girl and act like a wise and proper, mature woman.
But I just recently learned the chocolate industry in Europe is going through tough times. Can you please tell me to act prim the next time. For now, I would just like to sulk and bawl on the fact that chocolate is slowly fading away. No!!!!
According to Reuters, even the giant continent of Europe is experiencing the wrath of economic crisis. That is one strong word to use, but you get what I mean. This is awful per se, but for the chocolate industry to be the focal point of decline is way more terrible!
Analysts say that “Times are tough enough now that even the market for this modest luxury is struggling in Europe.” Marcia Mogelonsky, Mintel’s global food and drink analyst further added, "For the first part of the recession we thought chocolate would be recession proof, and then we said recession resistant, and now I think people are just getting ground down." My heart just shattered into sweet little pieces.
The Mintel Market Researchers said that little change will be felt in the global market, however specifically in Western Europe, it is set to drop by roughly 5% by the end of 2012. This is sad because Europe along with North America are the biggest and most developed chocolate markets on the planet.
"You have to bear in mind the market is pretty mature so there's not much room for volume growth - regardless of the economic environment - in most Western European countries," said Lee Linthicum, global head of food research at Euromonitor International. They named Italy and Portugal to have the hardest falls in the market. How tragic that would be that I cannot even stomach to think about it.
Meanwhile, Asian countries such as China, Indonesia and Vietnam are creating a buzz because they are budding chocolate markets nowadays. At least someone else is happy on the other side of the world!
Everyone thought that chocolate would be immune to the recession. It is a crowd favorite, a cheap thrill, a daily dose of happy vitamin. But I hate to burst your bubble honey, chocolate is not immortal, though I really wish it would be.
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