JOIN USTalk about sin and the word ‘chocolate’ comes to mind! Be it birthday, anniversary, wedding or festival, chocolates form a perfect gift. But is it that chocolate is becoming a trend as gifting option? Metrolife finds out why and how the chocolate industry is growing by the day.
According to a recent research by Assocham, the chocolate market is likely to touch Rs 7,500 crore by 2015.
The demand during the festive season pushes the sales up by 35 per cent. But if the retailers are to be believed, the increase is more.
Gurjeev Gulati, founder and owner of Chocolate Beetle says, “Majority of sales happens during the period from October to February till Valentine’s Day. But the peak sale is during Diwali when a lot of corporate gifts along with wedding gifts get made.
So the sale goes up 200 times. On an average, we make 50 boxes per day for counter sales which is excluding bulk sale. So if on an average there is one lakh sale during lean season, it shoots up 20 times during this season.”
The reasons for this growing trend of gifting chocolates are varied. One major reason which the dealers share is the shelf life of chocolate. Some feel that “A box of chocolate is more aspirational than a typical mithai ka dabba.”
Sure it looks good with intresting and innovative packing that adds on to its price but is an essential if it is going as a status symbol.
Others feel that a box of chocolate gets over in a couple of hours whereas if a box of sweets is only tasted and the rest goes to servants as left over.
Not getting into the debate of traditional sweet versus contemporary chocolate, the latter (in its sugar free form) is gaining popularity over other food products such as dry fruits and cookies in online booking as well.
Prashant Tandon, MD and Co-founder, healthkart.com says, “We are seeing an excellent demand for sugar free chocolates and it is coming from both people interested in weight loss as well as people with diabetes. The growth is across metros as well as Tier 2 and 3 towns.
“Chocolates have always been popular and have seen a growth in demand but festive season sees a huge hike because a lot of people buy these products to gift. Surely, overall sales for the festive season are 50 per cent better. We are optimistic for a great season ahead and are stocking up on high quality sugar free chocolates.”
Also, if a chocolate box used to be expensive before, it costs the same as a box of sweets, dry fruits, cookies or candies. Infact, the price has gone down drastically and even imported chocolates are available in the market. The only major that chocolate is facing are the growing, long summer months in India.
So before it melts, pop it in and say Umm!