Dutch Confectionery & Snacks Show Strong Retail Growth

Premium brands such as Haribo, Katja and Napoleon have grown significantly more than private labels, driven to a great extent by brand recognition, differentiation and innovation.

4 Sep 2009 --- Confectionery retail sales in the Netherlands have grown by 6% in turnover and 4% in volume in the period June 2008-2009. These trends and developments will be discussed in detail at the IFBN’s Dutch Food Market Opportunities meeting on 3 & 4 November 2009 in Amsterdam.

Chocolate and savory snacks outperformed confectionery and baked goods, showing a growth of 8%, while chocolate remained stable in volume. Premium brands such as Haribo, Katja and Napoleon have grown significantly more than private labels, driven to a great extent by brand recognition, differentiation and innovation. In chocolate, private labels are increasing their market share. The fair share of discounters is increasing in chocolate category. Other chocolate trends are fair trade and sustainability.* UB/Verkade has reformulated all its chocolate to Fair Trade, while Mars has rolled out a sustainable logistics system.

The savoury snacks market has grown by 4% in volume and 8% in value. A 4% growth in volume indicates an increase in per capita consumption of snacks in the Netherlands (crisps consumption grew by more than 5%, and coated nuts by 8%). Overall, food consumption in the Netherlands grew by 1%.* Snack manufacturers have been quite successful with new introductions at higher prices.
 
Research by GfK has shown that advertising of new savoury snacks on Fridays and Saturdays is far more effective than the rest of the week. Consumers are more likely to make savoury snack purchases on these days. Confectionery and chocolate sales are relatively higher at the beginning of the week. Some retail experts predict that the battle for the retail shelves in confectionery and chocolate will be won by the larger branded players focusing on innovation.

These trends and developments will be discussed in detail at the IFBN’s Dutch Food Market Opportunities meeting on 3 & 4 November 2009 in Amsterdam. The IFBN (International Food Business Network) assists food manufacturers in building bridges between European food markets by helping them to better assess markets, reduce market barriers and by increasing know-how and marketing skills. The network’s quarterly country meetings are designed to help food manufacturers make connections, grow their business and build on their success. IFBN meetings in Europe are organized by Bridge2Food.

www.bridge2food.com

* Sources: GfK, IRI, Distrifood