The organic chocolate market - France

1.2 Chocolates, organic products and organic chocolates in the world

The production of cocoa beans is very demanding, since it requires a warm climate all year round, as well as high humidity accompanied by significant rainfall (***). These conditions are mostly met in tropical forests. This explains why cocoa production is carried out in few different countries. The Ivory Coast and Ghana alone account for **% of world cocoa production. [***]

Share of countries in world cocoa production World, ****, in % Source: ****

The beans are generally exported to industrialized countries that are the main consumers (***). However, cocoa processing is increasingly carried out in the producing countries. In Côte d'Ivoire, the Cargill Group's Micao factory should have a processing capacity of ***,*** tons by ****.[***]

In ****, the global market for chocolate and chocolate factories was estimated at $***.* billion. The market is growing faster than global growth (***), with an estimated *.*% CAGR between **** and ****.[***]

Chocolate and Chocolate Factory Market Trends World, ****-****, US$ billion Source: ****

European Chocolate Market Size Europe, ****-****, $ billion Source: ****

In ****, the European chocolate market was worth $**.** billion. Over the period ****-****, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of three *%. The main European markets are, in order, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

The organic chocolate segment is estimated to ...

1.3 Overview of the French market

Key figures of the chocolate market

The chocolate union, in its complete infographic for the year **** estimates the sales of chocolate in supermarkets at*,*** million euros, with ***,*** tons of chocolate sold. [***]

Overview of the organic market in France

France is the*nd European country in sales of organic products, behind Germany.

Value of retail sales of organic products, by country Europe, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

Organic chocolate

France is one of the top four markets for organic chocolate in Europe (***).

Organic represents *% of the cholate market in France, including *% in bars. [***]

1.4 Trade balance

The trade balance related to chocolate and chocolate factories is particularly deficient, with a coverage ratio of only **% in **** (***). This reflects a significant dependence of the French market on foreign imports, especially for the segments of chocolate candies and chocolate bars and sticks. [***]

Exports and imports of cocoa and cocoa products France, ****, € million Source: ****

Imports are not from producing countries but from processing countries, which explains why Germany and Belgium, respectively **.*% and **.*% of cocoa, chocolate and confectionery products imports, are France's main suppliers. The Ivory Coast, the main producing country, is only in*th place. [***]

Main import countries of cocoa, chocolate and confectionery products France, ****, in % Source: ****

France's exports of cocoa, chocolate and confectionery products to foreign countries are much less concentrated, as the top * customers account for only **% of exports. It should be noted that the vast majority of France's customers are located in Europe.

Top export countries for cocoa, chocolate and confectionery products France, ****, in % Source: ****

2.1 Key figures for chocolate consumption in France

The average budget of the French for chocolate is about *** € per year and per person, this is explained by a high consumption of chocolate products, divided between bars, spreads and bars (***).[***]

Turnover of the chocolate segments France, ****, € billion Source: ****

In fact, each French person consumes an average of *.** kg of chocolate each year, placing the country in *th place in Europe.[***]

Average consumption of chocolate Europe, ****, kg/inhab/yr Source: ****

The purchase of chocolate products (***). [***]

Who do you offer chocolate to most often? France, ****, in % Source: ****

Chocolate consumption is relatively frequent, since more than **% of French people say they consume it regularly, i.e. at least once a week.

About a third of consumers even say they eat it every day. It is this segment of consumers who make the majority of purchases in stores.

Frequency of consumption of chocolate products France, ****, in % Source: ****

the choice of consumers, when buying, is above all determined by their taste, that is to say their preference for such or such type of chocolate. The promotion of the moment, the composition and the brand are less important elements, which represent respectively the main criterion for only **%, **% and **% of consumers.

Importance of consumer choices France, ****, in ...

2.2 French preferences by chocolate product

The French declare that they prefer chocolate in certain forms more than others. Thus, bars are appreciated by nearly */* of the French ** years old. The fondant, soft and chocolate breads are appreciated by more than **% of the population. [***]

It is important to note that preferences change significantly with age. While bars are appreciated by only **.*% of **-** year olds, they are appreciated by **% of those over **. conversely, processed products using chocolate (***), are preferred by younger than older people. For example, fondant and soft products are appreciated by **.*% of **-** year olds and only **.*% of those over **.

Preferred chocolate products France, ****, in Source: ****

Age is also an important determinant since young consumers (***).

Preferred chocolate products France, ****, in Source: ****

2.3 Cyclicality of demand and organic chocolate craze

According to the Syndicat National du Chocolatsales of chocolates take place mainly at Christmas and Easter. These two periods cumulate respectively **.*% and *.*% of the turnover of chocolate makers

Share of organic chocolate in the total chocolate market France, **** - ****, in % Source: ****

The organic chocolate market has shown impressive growth in recent years. The increase is +**% from **** to ****; a trend that does not falter despite the health crisis: the organic chocolate market grew by **% in ****.[***]

3.1 A fragmented market

The chocolate market in France is made up of *** companies, **% of which are SMEs. **% of chocolate employees work in industrial production, i.e. ** *** jobs for ** *** employees in the chocolate market (***).

Two French leaders in the organic chocolate segment

Although the chocolate market, and a fortiori that of organic chocolate, is an extremely fragmented market, the latter leaves a large place to two leaders stand out in this segment of organic agriculture:

Alter Eco

Alter Eco is a French company created in **** by Tristan Lecomte, and specialized in the import and distribution of fair trade and organic products. In ****, the company was acquired by Bjorg, Bonneterre et Compagnie. The company's turnover in **** was **.* million euros. Its product range includes ** different chocolate bars, all of which are fair trade. It is present in supermarkets and hypermarkets mainly. [***]

Ethiquable

Ethiquable is a French cooperative company (***) founded in **** and specialized in the sale of organic products from fair trade. Its turnover in **** amounted to ** million euros with **.* million products sold over the year.

Ethiquable's products are mainly available in supermarkets, then in specialized stores, online stores and out-of-home catering. Its range of chocolates includes ** distinct references, from * different origins. Today, Ethiquable claims ** cooperatives of small ...

3.2 The organic sweet goods department

The various products of the organic chocolate market are grouped within the organic sweet grocery at various retailers (***).

In ****, the Organic grocery department represented **% of the total sales of organic products in France at GMS (***), i.e. *.* billion out of *.* billion euros in total. Organic sweet groceries grew by **% in value between **** and **** [***]

Several distributors are taking advantage of this craze for organic products, such as the supermarket chain E.Leclerc, which announced the creation of *** stores dedicated to organic products in ****, or the Mousquetaire group, which will open ** organic stores and counters by **** [***].

3.3 Chocolate production chain

The production chain of the chocolate industry can be summarized as follows:

Source: ****

Cocoa production

More than ***,*** hectares of cocoa were produced organically in ****. This represents *.*% of the total area cultivated for cocoa.

The majority of cultivated areas are located in Africa (***). [***]

Democratic Republic of Congo (***) Sierra Leone (***) Dominican Republic (***) Peru (***)

The area devoted to organic cocoa has increased significantly in recent years

Area dedicated to organic cocoa cultivation World, **** - *****, in thousands of hectares and in % Source: ****

3.3 Le rayon épicerie bio

Les différents produits du marché du chocolat bio sont regroupés au sein de l’épicerie sucrée Bio chez les différents revendeurs (***).

En ****, le rayon épicerie Bio représentait **% du chiffre d’affaires total des produits bio en France chez les GMS (***), soit *,* milliards sur *,* milliards d’euros au total. L’épicerie sucrée bio a progressé de **% en valeur entre **** et **** [***]

Plusieurs distributeurs profitent ainsi de cet engouement pour les produits bios, à l’instar de la chaîne de grande distribution E.Leclerc qui a annoncé la création de *** magasin dédiés aux produits Bio en ****, ou le groupement des Mousquetaire qui ouvrira ** enseignes et comptoirs Bios d’ici **** [***].

3.5 A concentrated market

An overview of the market

It is possible to distinguish * types of manufacturers in the chocolate and chocolate factory market in France. [***]

Distribution of the number of companies by size and number France, ****, in % Source: ****

The main ones are the foreign multinationals (***), which have processing plants in France and abroad, and export their products to France. Their main asset is to have brands known by consumers, distributed in supermarkets and hypermarkets. The Milka brand, for example, belongs to the Mondelez group.

SMEs are small and medium-sized companies that make their own chocolate, sold in their own stores under their own brand name. These SMEs do not generally benefit from the industrial capacities or the reputation of the multinationals' brands.

Manufacturers with stores (***).

Finally, artisans (***) generally have their own stores and their sales are concentrated on a small geographical scale. [***]

The chocolate and chocolate factory market is relatively concentrated in France, with * companies largely leading the way in the major chocolate and chocolate factory segments: Ferrero, Mondelez, Nestlé, Lindt, Mars.

This predominance of these brands can be seen in the chocolate bar segment, where Mondelez, Lindt and Nestlé represented **.*% of the market in **** in supermarkets.

Market shares of the players in the ...

4.1 Organic chocolate/chocolate product lines

In its latest infographic, the Syndicat du Chocolat breaks down the sales of chocolate products into * product categories:

Chocolate bars (***) Chocolate spreads (***) Chocolate bars (***) Confectionery (***) Cocoa powder (***)

Chocolate bars

A distinction is generally made between pastry bars (***). Organic chocolate is perfectly illustrated in these three categories, with the highest penetration rates of the chocolate segment in France, respectively **%, *.*% and **.*%. [***] The tasting bars represent **% of the organic chocolate bars offered in France.

Producers are betting on the origin of the products (***), but also on the packaging with an important place for the "organic label" logo to sell their product. [***]

The spreads

Organic spreads use the advantage of "without palm oil" to sell their product, a strong argument in the opinion of consumers fond of alternative products without this oil involved in many deforestation. [***]

Several brands, such as Jardin Bio®, Nocciolata® or Aglina® also claim the absence of gluten in their spreads. All these products can be found in supermarkets and hyper markets [***].

Chocolate bars

Although some brands have already launched a few chocolate bars in an organic range (***), this segment is converting more slowly to organic.

Only ** products of this kind referenced on Naturaliastores specialized in the purchase of organic products, * references ...

4.2 Average price

According to Simon Kucherorganic chocolate is generally twice as expensive as traditional chocolate. However, this depends greatly on the brand of the product.

Basic organic chocolate bars are sold at around *.*€ per *** grams in private labels [***], pastry chocolate can be enjoyed from *€ per kilogram, while products from recognized brands such as Alter Eco and Equitable can be bought for between ** and **€ per kilogram depending on the model.

Compared to non-organic chocolates, prices are relatively similar for pastry bars and tasting bars (***). However, the entry-level price is lower for non-organic chocolate, starting at *€ per kilo for milk chocolate in private labels.

The Côte d'Or® brand, which offers a wide range of organic and non-organic chocolate, however, has higher prices on its organic range: around €** per kilo, generally sold in **-gram bars (***). In **** the brand's organic range reached * penetration points for a turnover of €*.* million. [***]

Finally, the Cémoi franchise is also betting on the Organic in its own name to boost these sales. This company provides **% of organic chocolate bars sold in private labels, and in **** released a range of ** references of organic chocolate bars. This includes fillings, blocks, pastries and tasting chocolates. The format and price do not differ from ...

5.1 Regulations

The composition for each category of chocolate in cocoa and cocoa butter is delimited by the Codex Stan **-****, Rev.* -****.

The introduction of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter is also controlled with a threshold of *% of the total weight of the bar with a clear indication on the product label of the composition of the chocolate. [***]

For the Organic, the jurisdiction is established at the European levelcommission Regulation (***) No ***/**** of * September **** - on organic production and labelling of organic products as regards organic production, labelling and controls - defines the rules for the production and distribution of organic labelled products within the European Union. In addition, **% of the ingredients of a product are organically produced, i.e. without the use of pesticides or GMOs. However, there is a tolerance of GMO contamination up to *.*% of processed products.

Beyond this European label, there are other private labels, such as Bio Cohérence (***) that can be found on certain chocolate products. The latter only labels products that have already been stamped AB, with additional criteria such as the non-mixing of organic and non-organic production and a GMO contamination threshold limited to *.*%.

6.1 Segmentation

• Ecotone Groupe (Alter Eco, Bjorg, Bonneterre)
• Ethiquable
• Jardin Bio (Léa Nature)
• Cémoi (Sweet Products)
• Biocoop
• Biomonde
• La Vie Claire
• Ferrero
• Lindt & Sprungli
• Mondelez Groupe
• Jean Louis Boyère Vijaya
• Vahiné (McCormic France)
• Kaoka
• Ombar
• Moulin Meckert (Moulin des Moines)
• Nestlé Groupe
• Mars Group
• Les Biolonistes
• Rapunzel