IRI confectionery monitor: a bumpy start to the year

The product group salty snacks showed a sales boost of 6.2% to € 487.6 m, and the sales volume at 61,664 tonnes was 2.8% higher than the year prior. Sellers of chocolate products (without season) experienced a bumpy start to the year: sales declined by 0.8% to € 765.4 m (volume: - 2.4%; 77,745 tonnes).

The sweet baked goods & cakes category also remained below expectations with a sales decline of 4.7% to € 321.9 m with a sales volume slump of - 5.5% at 62,318 tonnes. Sugar confectionery experienced similar first two months in 2018: sales reduced by 4.8% to € 307.3 m, with volume declining by 5.5% to 55,335 tonnes. The chewing gum segment was also negative with both sales (- 1.8%; € 73.5 m) and volume (- 3.6%, 50.5 million pieces).

In contrast, IRI showed that the Christmas 2017/2018 seasonal business (September to January) showed growth in both sales and volume of 3.3% (€ 643.1 m; €; 42,278 tonnes).