Chocolate bars: Europe loves the classic crop

Amongst their sweet brethren, chocolate bars stand as the megastars throughout Europe. Over the past twelve months (rolling year up to and including October 2015), consumers all across Europe have spent € 6,541 bn on chocolate bars.
This constitutes nearly 5% more than in the same period of the previous year. The prices per kg were up 65 cent on average, entailing a decline in the overall sales volume (-2.7%) across all evaluated countries (Germany, UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, and Russia). Germany, with roughly 213 million kg of chocolate bars sold, is the uncontested number one when it comes to chocolate consumption, France manages a mere 115 million kg, while Russia has an overall consumption of just under 133 million kg.

Then again, almost all countries share a love for no-frills chocolates with no additional ingredients that, with a quantity share of 44.4%, top the list of Europe's most beloved chocolate varieties. In Italy and Spain, that share is as high as 60+%, while a majority of consumers in France (55.8%) and the Netherlands (54.6%) have a penchant for the plain variant. To sum up, all this leaves milk chocolate as the most popular flavour by far, which accounts for two third of all bars sold in Europe (the UK not included).

On the other hand, in some countries certain varieties with the most diverse ingredients have made it to the chocolate consumers' fave lists. Take Spain as an example, where chocolate with almonds is at the very forefront, while in France and Germany, hazelnut chocolate brands are most popular and come second only to the plain varieties. On the whole, Germans favour bars with chunky ingredients (share in chocolate sales: 36.9%) which, however, are also popular with the Russians, Swiss, and French. Nuts, raisins & hazelnuts or biscuits are preferred constituents. Taken together, the different chocolate variants with ingredients add up to a portion of 29.6% of all chocolate sales across Europe. With a share of 18.6% across Europe, filled bars rank third among the different flavours. With an overall share of 27.5%, dark chocolates come second in the European (minus the UK) consumer rankings. With a portion of 5.3% of the overall chocolate sales, white chocolates are leading something of a wallflower existence.

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