Sweet Trends in China: Confectionery Business on the Rise

While sugar confectionery is currently the largest spread in the Chinese market, chocolate is on high demand and is set to be the fastest growing sweet product, according to a research report by Canadean.

The local confectionery market is expected to develop in the following five years, with an estimated 9.5% increase in Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) forecast to 2017. It was the sixth largest out of the 15 Chinese sectors monitored by Canadean in 2012, with 73.1% of the sector’s value and 86.6% of its volume.

Gum consumption per capita remains low, with a recorded 6.8% volume share last year, but China is still the second largest market in the world as volume, after the US.

Chocolate accounted for 6.6% of the confectionery sector in 2012, but consumer interest is reflected in recent sales rise. It is forecast to rise above the sector average by 2017, both in value and volume, with an estimated CAGR of 10.0% and, respectively, 7.4%, according to Canadean’s research.

Sugar confectionery, currently leading the market sector with its 73.1% value and 86.6% volume shares recorded value last year, is estimated to represent 9.4% in the sector CGR value and 6.2% – in 2017.

Distribution channels

Convenience stores have claimed the largest share of the confectionery sector sales in China for the last five years, accounting for almost half of the entire market. Although they recorded a drop in overall share recently, as did specialized stores, overall sales remained high, with an increase recorded in hypermarkets and supermarkets, according to the research.

The information was published in the report “The Future of the Confectionery Market in China to 2017”. With a 40 year experience, the Canadean Group is known for providing in-depth market research and analyses, initially focused on beverages, and later expanded across the FMCG market and related industries.