The nougat and Christmas products sector, like the candy industry as a whole, is risking more than 80% of its annual sales in the coming weeks in a 2024 marked by the high prices reached by cocoa, the fundamental ingredient of the varieties. chocolate, the fastest growing category in recent years.
At the time of writing this information, for example, cocoa was quoted at a price higher than 9,000 pounds per ton on the London futures market, which is equivalent to more than 10,800 euros.
Throughout the year, the price of cocoa has quintupled, as José Manuel Sirvent, general director of Confectionary Holding, owner of the El Lobo and 1880 nougat brands, recalls. “A year ago cocoa ranged between 1,500 and 2,700 pounds per ton, but in 2024 we have reached over 10,000. This leads us to think that the varieties of. chocolate nougat, which grew so much in other years, will not register the increases of past seasons. Although we cannot yet quantify it, our customers are telling us that. On the shelves, classic nougats are performing much better in this campaign. than the chocolate varieties,” he explains.
Consumption transfer
This transfer of Christmas consumption towards nougat specialties that do not include chocolate is reinforced by the fact that The fundamental ingredients, almonds or honey, have not changed in price considerably.
Thus, while Cocoa derivatives have doubled their price compared to the last campaign, The nougat manufacturers in Jijona and Alicante have been able to keep theirs in a stable manner. In this way, traditional specialties are managing to capture the spending of these consumers who avoid chocolate products that have increased in price and reduced in size.
The general secretary of the Regulatory Council for the Protected Geographical Indication Jijona and Turrón de Alicante, Federico Moncunill, confirms the good expectations of the PGI producers for the close of this year, who foresee a 3% increase in sales after 5% progress in the export campaign started in May. “Although there are countries that have suffered a clear setback due to financial problems such as Cuba, Venezuela or Argentina, this has been compensated by growth in markets such as Mexico or the United States,” Moncunill clarifies.
In the national market, the person responsible for the quality seal explains that the campaign is evolving positively, “with a situation different from last year, when we maintained inflation rates of between 7% and 8% that affected decisions of those responsible for purchasing in homes. “Now we have normalized the situation and, Although the buyer continues to perceive high prices, the truth is that we are not in the same situation as in 2023 and that makes things easier,” he clarifies.
In addition to the good foreign growth data for traditional nougat, with exports accounting for 13% of the business in the case of this PGI, its representative highlights two new windows of opportunity for the sector. “As new in this campaign we must talk about the sales in stores in tourist areas or associated with tourism, which has been growing a lot in the last four years, managing to not only increase the marketing of nougat at Christmas time, but also during the rest of the year,” explains Moncunill, “because international travelers take it as a gourmet souvenir in a phenomenon similar to the ensaimadas on planes coming from Mallorca.”
The second window of opportunity for traditional nougat, according to Moncunill, is the one opened by the sharp increase in requests received by the Regulatory Council “to certify the use of our nougat as an ingredient in other products such as ice cream, flans, cookies or panettone.” .
Tourism and collaborations with other manufacturers are, according to Moncunill, two factors that help deseasonalize the sale of nougat, “because these certified products and our specialties are on the shelves throughout the year.”
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