Brits 'to be targeted with low-carb chocolate bars'
23 December 2004
Industry likely to react to increasing health concerns, says report

The British are the undisputed chocoholics of Europe - but the growth in demand for chocolate products is slowing as consumers become increasingly health conscious.

But manufacturers are likely to fight back by launching low-carb confectionery lines, according to a new report.

Analysts Datamonitor said today that the UK chocolate market will be worth £3.6bn in 2004, with chocolate bars accounting for 44 per cent of all chocolate sales by volume. But British consumption is slowing as the nation becomes more health and diet conscience. In 2004, overall chocolate volume sales rose by less than one per cent, a trend which Datamonitor believes will continue to the end of the decade.

But the major players are tipped to hit back by launching new, low carbohydrate and sugar-free products in order to achieve price premiums in an increasingly crowded market, and in an effort to attract adult consumers back to the market. This is already happening in the US, Datamonitor said, while Nestlé has launched a low-carb version of the Kit Kat in the UK.

The report also reveals that the Brits are Europe's biggest chocoholics, getting through 10kg of chocolate per capita per year - the equivalent of 154 Mars Bars per person. That figure is nearly twice the European average. We also pay nearly 30 per cent more for chocolate than the European average.

By Graham Hayday

http://www.intellagencia.com/news.asp?siteid=4&id=65638

Being a Brit I'm fascinated as I don't eat chocolate so which of the 'Three Bears' has been getting my share?