CATEGORY OVERVIEW
Category
update:
confectionery
Look beyond the groundhog day grind of converting browsers to spenders; out-of-the-chocolatebox strategic thinking and a united confectionery community are the way forward say category experts by
CLAIRE MALCOLM
M
arginal sales declines were the order of the day in 2016, according to Generation Research’s preliminary FY2016 figures, with the global confectionery and fine food category reporting a 0.3% dip to US$4.86 billion. But, compared to 2015, with its 4% slide, the tide does appear to be turning. Europe is leading the resurgence, registering 3.4% growth last year with Asia Pacific and the Middle East posting declines of 1.6% and 1.5% respectively, and the Americas and Africa worst hit, dropping 7.4% and 6.3% respectively. “Sales in the largest channel, airport shops, fell 1% to US$3.2 billion, however we saw an increase for ‘other shops’ which were up 1.5% to US$1.2 billion,” says Erik Juul-Mortensen, TFWA President. According to the latest ForwardKeys data, BRIC departures increased in the first quarter of 2017, especially from Brazil and Russia, both of which have seen significant recovery, with further growth in travel demand pegged for H2 2017. Europe is also seeing a rebound in international arrivals after the terror attacks in 2016 (although this doesn’t take into account traveler sentiment post the recent attacks in Manchester and London), while the Americas have been buoyed by Canada and Mexico. In Asia Pacific, even though Chinese arrivals to South Korea are down due to the THAAD situation, they are still traveling to other ASEAN countries and beyond.
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CONFECTIONERY JUNE 2017