Europe’s chocolate market appears to be growing at the same rate as consumer’s appetites. The Europe Chocolate market is projected to reach USD 57 billion by 2024, registering a CAGR of 3.6% during the forecast period (2019 – 2024). The market is highly competitive, with the presence of numerous leading players accounting for the majority market share, and young brands emerging with new trends. The increasing demand and growing popularity of dark and organic chocolates is fueling the market growth and allowing competitive placement for companies like Alshair Fiyaz’s Simply Chocolate.

One noticeable trend has been the rise of top-shelf chocolate. Britain’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has found that foreign buyers “are showing an increasing taste” for quality chocolate exports. This trend extends to the United States where, according to consumer surveys, premium brands now account for nearly 20 percent of all US sales of sweets. This is a considerable share of a national market regularly tapped by almost four-fifths of adult consumers.

Closely linked to this trend has been the boom in “craft chocolate”. Over the past half-decade, independent start-up chocolatiers, using artisanal production methods, have been looking to eat into the market share of “Big Chocolate”. They are seeking to mirror the rapid growth of the craft beer industry – which has already drawn millions of global consumers away from the larger established brewers.