Candy producers in trouble

Photo: wikipedia

“The market is becoming increasingly difficult,” Mariusz Popek, chief executive at confectionery firm Grupa Otmuchow, told business daily Puls Biznesu.

“Many producers have invested in modern, highly efficient production capacities, which are often not fully used.”

One of the reasons is that Polish consumers have recently been more inclined to choose chocolate over sugar-based candies. This trend may however change if chocolate prices continue to rise.

Another is linked to the growing trend for healthy nutrition. An increasing number of consumers are choosing sweets that resemble dietary supplements and contain vitamin doses or herbal extracts.

In response to the trend, some confectionery firms have already started using their existing production capacities to produce such candies.

The value of the Polish sugar-based confectionery market is 1.4 billion zloty (some 334 million euro). The total value of the confectionery market in Poland is 12.7 billion zloty (some 3 billion euro), according to a report by KPMG.

A study by market research firm Euromonitor forecasts that the sugar-based candy segment is bound to decline in the coming years. (kw/nh)