Nothing better than a tasty subject to start this blog. Chocolate is even better! Since Easter is coming, what about a piece of good chocolate? It has been proven that chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa is good for the heart, not just for romantic purposes but also for your health. Chocolate is healthy for the Brazilian economy as well, especially because of cocoa. It could be better however. Cocoa is a big business for Brazil, which is the 5th largest producer in the world of this commodity, behind Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia and Nigeria. In 1993/94 Brazil had 12% of the world production but in 2003/04 its share was only about 4.5% (155 K tons). Brazil is also the 4th largest chocolate producer in the world when considering all kinds of chocolate products.
90% of the Brazilian production is consumed domestically and exportation (in tons and $) has been dropping since 2005. You can see the stats (Estatísticas) at ABICAB. Would these two facts be the reasons why it’s so hard to find a Brazilian chocolate brand in the Quebec market and possibly in Canada? For instance, in Montreal, I only found the little chocolate bars (called bombons in Brazil) in a Brazilian coffee shop. At the same time, some chocolate manufacturers are exploiting the image of Brazilian cacao quality and taste. Sarotti, a German company, sells its No. 1 Brazil (in the picture above), a premium dark chocolate, in many grocery stores, drugstores and convenience stores.
The industry is going premium; and bio, organic and fair trade products are new trends as well. Since being from Brazil is perceived as a special, positive attribute, why then is there almost no “Made in Brazil” chocolate here, in a $ 2 billion market? According to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), in 2005 Canada was in 14th place in chocolate consumption (3.9 Kg per person), behind 11 European countries, the US and Australia.
Yes, exportation and distribution represent a huge cost. In addition, the Brazilian cacao production has been facing big problems, which also increases its price for the local chocolate manufacturers. In this scenario, competing against giants such as - Nestlé, Hershey’s, Cadbury, Lindt - which are all offering more premium products and have huge promotional power, is very risky. What about offering high quality and exotic flavours, such as chocolate with tropical fruits? For instance, Lindt offers blends such as chocolate with Sea Salt and Chili. But has someone tried to offer that up here? How did the business go or how is it going? If you have any news about this, please tell me. If you are just a chocoholic like me, you certainly would love to try delicious Brazilian chocolate such as Fany and the ones from Gramado.
90% of the Brazilian production is consumed domestically and exportation (in tons and $) has been dropping since 2005. You can see the stats (Estatísticas) at ABICAB. Would these two facts be the reasons why it’s so hard to find a Brazilian chocolate brand in the Quebec market and possibly in Canada? For instance, in Montreal, I only found the little chocolate bars (called bombons in Brazil) in a Brazilian coffee shop. At the same time, some chocolate manufacturers are exploiting the image of Brazilian cacao quality and taste. Sarotti, a German company, sells its No. 1 Brazil (in the picture above), a premium dark chocolate, in many grocery stores, drugstores and convenience stores.
The industry is going premium; and bio, organic and fair trade products are new trends as well. Since being from Brazil is perceived as a special, positive attribute, why then is there almost no “Made in Brazil” chocolate here, in a $ 2 billion market? According to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), in 2005 Canada was in 14th place in chocolate consumption (3.9 Kg per person), behind 11 European countries, the US and Australia.
Yes, exportation and distribution represent a huge cost. In addition, the Brazilian cacao production has been facing big problems, which also increases its price for the local chocolate manufacturers. In this scenario, competing against giants such as - Nestlé, Hershey’s, Cadbury, Lindt - which are all offering more premium products and have huge promotional power, is very risky. What about offering high quality and exotic flavours, such as chocolate with tropical fruits? For instance, Lindt offers blends such as chocolate with Sea Salt and Chili. But has someone tried to offer that up here? How did the business go or how is it going? If you have any news about this, please tell me. If you are just a chocoholic like me, you certainly would love to try delicious Brazilian chocolate such as Fany and the ones from Gramado.
