The United Kingdom

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

At Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Jim Harris was the COO (chief operation officer) and was with the company for about 18 months and was observing the increased demand for their chocolate. “America’s finest dark chocolate” company wanted to increase production by equipping factories with new machineries and equipment but did not want any difference in the taste of the chocolates they produced. As the company totally agrees on not compromising the taste of chocolates and increase the production in order to meet the rising demand for their chocolates they should probably get into customizing chocolates blend for the mass-market retailer in order to grab huge market share, increase accessibility of the chocolate to customers and provide variety of choice to the customers by maintaining the taste they are known for. As the demand is increasing from 50%, 100%, to 150% by the start of 2006, Harris has to make a significant decision in order to invest Scharffen’s capital budget in expansion of the Company. Harris is recommended to acquire the required machinery in order to fasten the production and increase the capacity of the plant and should be careful about the quantity to be produced as the acquiring of machinery will increase productivity multiple times but the initial demand for

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).

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

Theo Chocolate was first established in March 2006 by Debra Music and Joe Whinney in the Fremont- neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (theochocolate.com, our story). For Theo, they want to do more than just chocolate. It is about the land, the people, the dedication, and the interconnected relationships that bind all of them together. That is why Joe Whinney- Theo’s founder- first pioneered the supply of organic cocoa beans into the United Strates in 1994. Traveling and working in the tropics of Central America and Africa, Joe fell in love with the land and

Coco’s Chocolate Café was inspired by a lifelong love of all things chocolate. I wanted to get out of the office and into the community to create a sumptuous haven where people could indulge in rich, creamy, warm chocolates and make them an integral part of their daily lives,

The Cherry Lady falls under the premium chocolate industry. Thus, the porter’s model can be utilized by The Cherry Lady as a framework to structure and analyze its industry. According to the Model, the premium chocolate industry can be impacted by five distinct forces such as rivalry among existing firms in the industry, threats from substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, threats of new entrants, and bargaining power of

The demand for Thorntons boxed chocolates follows a strongly seasonal pattern: 35 percent of sales are in the seven-week period before Christmas, a further 10 percent are for Easter, including three million Easter eggs. The combination of providing a fresh product together with the need to meet a seasonal pattern of demand places particular pressures upon the company’s manufacturing facilities. A proportion of the Christmas product is produced several months in advance, maintaining freshness through chilled storage. However, Thorntons chocolates are enrobed in chocolate, rather than moulded. Their hand-made appearance makes the process of packing boxed chocolates less open to automation than is the case for moulded chocolates (with their more uniform shape an size) produced by companies such as Cadburys. The seasonal demand for packing staff requires the increased use of casual workers, with consequent falls in efficiency. Seasonal demand also requires the use of temporary staff in the retail outlets to meet a sales pattern that can within a few days increase tenfold; typically the company sells £10m of chocolate in the last 72 hours of Christmas trading. At times the company has sold icecream (self-manufactured or bought in) as an attempt to offset the effect of low, off-season, chocolate sales.

It will also affect the sources from where manufacturers in the industry get their ingredients. If a lower amount of cacao or sugar must be used according to legislation, Cadbury will be forced to buy fewer amounts of these ingredients and thus affecting the farming industry. (abhishreshthaa, 2012)

The global chocolate market is highly consumer driven and companies need to focus on their development and marketing strategies towards capturing a larger consumer base, and acquiring new markets. The major strategies used are consolidation of processes, and enhancement of brand image through corporate social

Based on the interview with Mr Benjamin Chew, Simply Chocolate Sdn.Bhd being the one of the first specialty handmade chocolate producers in Sabah. As mentioned by Mr Benjamin, Simply Chocolate Sdn Bhd produces approximately 2 tons of handmade chocolate per month and most of which are marketed through those outlets in Kota Kinabalu .As a owner of the company, Mr Benjamin believes in teamwork and innovation as the essential factor to continue success in the market. Therefore, he will conduct weekly meeting with their employees to ensure all the department’s operation going smooth. Also, he will allocate time to work with the production team experimenting with new ideas on their handmade chocolate. Hence, innovation and creativity is one of the way to keep pace with the changing markets and for business to survive. Apart from that, Mr Benjamin also ensure the products are enough to fulfil the demand of the customers by monitor and adjust the stock. As mentioned earlier, 95% of the customers are come from tourists. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the stock are enough to fulfil the demand of

In today markets, there are many other chocolate brand out there that offer low price product and have a variety flavours to attract customers. With this pressure, it can lead to more aggressive marketing price and promotion activity among the competitors and the Cadbury company.

Application of Porter’s five forces analysis focuses on industry and market analysis, measuring key elements of a relevant market environment and ultimately how healthy that market looks for a business. These key forces include buyer power, supplier power, threat of new competitors, threat of substitution, and existing competition. Where competition is fierce, market size low, supply chain weak, competition aggressive and plentiful, pricing and margins low, it’s likely this market would be considered unhealthy for a company to enter. The fewer or lesser such items, the healthier a market might be and more likely to be considered by a company.

In the United Kingdom, a census was taken every 10 years starting from 1801. With the exception of 1941 due to the Second World War, the census kept a very good idea of the current population and assisted in predicting futures sizes. Population data for years prior to the census was provided from directories and gazetteers as many churches took number on the size of its inhabitants. Estimated in the 1500s, Scotland had a population of 500,000 persons, and according to the 2011 census, the country has reached an extraordinary 5,295,000 persons. As of 2012, the birth rate was 11 births/1,000 people and a death rate of 10.5 deaths/1,000 people – this suggests that the population growth is rather relaxed since almost as many are born and die

The nation of Belgium is renowned for its chocolate and takes every chance to promote this asset. The nation has a lot to give to the cocoa chain across the world (Elshof, 2012). In addition, Belgians consume large quantities of chocolate. Yet this nation prides itself in the finest chocolate quality given the fact that it is the home to a large number of small chocolate firms, acknowledged across the globe. Most important is the fact that since the last twenty years, different chocolatiers initiated business to manufacture chocolates. A nation could not desire for a better input to its economy than an industry, which proudly employs the term Belgian on its wrappings and outlets for its major products (Elshof, 2012). However, it must be noted that Belgium is not just a marketing tool for packets of chocolates. Barry Callebaut, a Belgian