Mars opens chocolate-themed “Dove Hotel” in Shanghai

Dubbed the Dove Hotel, after the firm's most popular chocolate brand in China by market value, the store consists of four concept rooms featuring various chocolate flavours, according to China Daily. The company says it has been designed around Dove's slogan of “Pleasure makes you extraordinary”, and features the chance for guests to craft DIY chocolate products, and taste desserts prepared by a Michelin-level chef.

Dove Hotel follows the similar Dove Choc Bar concept, which popped-up last September in Beijing's busy Sanlitun district. Over three weeks, the bar welcomed 30,000 visitors and reached 152 million people through social media. "Everything we are doing on this is to create the buzz that is in connection with the brand," said Thomas Delabriere, vice-president of Mars Wrigley Confectionery China. "We want to convey their own attitude and encourage young people to pursue their own pleasure."

According to Nielsen, Mars leads the chocolate market in China, with a 49% share in 2017 in terms of offline value, followed by Ferrero Group at 25.5%. In the year to July, Mars chocolate sales grew 3.7% year-on-year, while digital commerce saw 30.6% growth, according to Nielsen.