Report of the UK chocolate industry CONTENTS Introduction.......................................................................................3 Findings.............................................................................................4 • Social Factors............................................................................................5 • Technological Factors................................................................................7 • Political/Legal Factors................................................................................9 • Economical Factors...................................................................................11 …show more content…
2001 saw a drop in demand for chocolate. Upon conducting further research as to the cause, it emerged that at this time a report titled ‘a taste of slavery: how you’re chocolate may be tainted’ was published informing the UK chocolate consumer of these facts. Reports noted 200,000 children were working on cocoa farms; at least 12,000 of these children were not working near their families suggesting trafficking was also taking place. Subsequently this caused outrage in the UK which is what lead to the drop in demand and causing the trough in the market. Following these revelations the ‘Harkin-Engel’ protocol was introduced in an attempt to regain consumer faith in the market and re build up the demand. Labelling systems were put into place to assure customers that slave labour was not used in the production and manufacturing of chocolate.(www.wikipedia.org) 2009 In turn this lead to the demand for fair trade chocolates. The chocolate industry is one of the most developed and sophisticated in the world and as consumer demand increases for these products there is still room for manufacturers to tap into this niche market and increase their supply to meet the increasing demand. Technological Factors Worthington and Britton (1994) p.133 describe technological change leading ‘’to the introduction of new products, changes in the methods and organisation of production, changes in the quality
Chocolate was previously considered a “delectable symbol of luxury, wealth, and power” (Klein) in the 1500s. Using modern technology, it is now easily produced. While
The premium chocolate industry is a large market in the United States and continues to grow around 10% annually. It is also populated with very strong
Its value is that they will be caring and considerate of their employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, the community and the environment by showing respect to each other and valuing diversity, working together to achieve a safe, friendly and positive working environment, setting clear expectations, recognising contribution and developing their people, leading by example and taking responsibility for their actions, communicating clearly, inclusively, honestly and in a timely manner, having pride in their product and passion for the business, its heritage and its future and contributing to the community through corporate benevolence and environmentally sustainable practices (Haigh's Chocolates).
The basic characteristics of the marketing concept that could be identified in Clare’s Chocolates are as follows:
There is a high bargaining power of suppliers because of the need of the key ingredients required for chocolate manufacturing and limited number of suppliers for this industry. Since cocoa trees require tropical climate, it forces the main producers in the west to import them from countries in West Africa or other hot places
While Europe and the United States account for most chocolate consumption, the confection is growing in popularity in Asia and market forecasts are optimistic about the prospects in China and India (Nieburg, 2013, para 9). According to the CNN Freedom Project, the chocolate industry rakes in $83 billion a year, surpassing the Gross Domestic Product of over a hundred nations (“Who consumes the most chocolate,” 2012, para 3).
(Transition: The history of Hershey’s chocolate laid the foundation for the many different types of chocolate eaten today.
One important underlying driver of change in the chocolate industry is the large manufacturers lobbying to change the definition of the term "chocolate" under USFDA guidelines, if they are successful in doing this then this could potentially have a dramatic impact on the competitive environment, with lots of cheaper products
Because many manufactured goods were now being made interchangeably, the efficiency for manufacturing consumer goods was at an all-time high. Soon, the economies of scale technique was introduced and manufacturers were now able to figure out how much it cost per product depending on the supply, demand, and actual cost of the product. It was now much easier for innovators to focus on upgrading these products, instead of having to make them one by one. Once it was easier to upgrade machines, new
Hershey has bought and produced tons of chocolate for over 50 years that has had the blood, sweat and tears of the not only the children on the Ivory Coast, but the adults as well. The way that Hershey has been able to sell to their consumers with very low prices on all their products is because they buy from the cocoa farms that have child slaves. Many of which were taken from their homes, sold or needed to provide for their families. They would come work for cocoa farmers and get paid little to nothing. Children who work on the Ivory Coast usually are between ages 12 and 16,
The premium chocolate market has been growing at 20% annually, showing that buyers are willing to pay more for a better tasting and better quality chocolate. The declining growth of the overall chocolate market and rapid growth of the premium chocolate market is positive for current producers of premium chocolates in that the decline
Allison, M. (2013). Fair-trade theo chocolate fairly booming. The Seattle Times, par. 4. Retrieved from http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020664110_theochocolatexml.html(2013). Fair-trade theo chocolate fairly booming. The Seattle Times, par.25. Retrieved from http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020664110_theochocolatexml.htmlBrake, L. (2011). Theo chocolate - the ultimate in green chocolate. Earth Times, par. 2. Retrieved from http://www.earthtimes.org/green-
Culliney, Kacey. “Luxury Chocolate to Grow Developed Markets, Says Analyst.” Confectionerynews.com. 13 April 2015 http://www.confectionerynews.com/Markets/Luxury-chocolate-to-grow-developed-markets-says-analyst.
The social demand for chocolate varies for several reasons. One of which is a change in the level of the population. The population of the UK is aging, people are living longer and there are a lower percentage of children. This would indicate that although the population is increasing because of people living longer there are fewer children, which is the main consumer for the chocolate industry resulting in less demand for the product.
Secondly is the technical or technological changes. The research and development done in the field of technology has had a big effect on the way manufacturing is done.