Candy is an indispensable snack food in people's lives and an important part of the world's retail market. In terms of production, China is currently the second largest confectionery market in the world after the United States, and a number of well-known brands have formed. At the same time, China's candy market has also entered a more mature stage of development. Food industry analysts from Shangpu Consulting said recently that China's confectionery industry will present four major development trends in the future.
First, China's confectionery industry will develop towards the high-end market. Although China's candy market is large, the high-end candy market is still a blank area. At present, high-end confectionery brands are still dominated by foreign brands, and these brands occupy about 70% of the domestic market. Although there are many brands in the domestic candy market, most of them stay in the low-end market. These provide opportunities for China's confectionery industry to develop into high-end markets.
Second, increasing competition has led to increased advertising investment. At present, confectionery consumption has not just stopped at the confectionery itself. Whether the confectionery is well-known and sent out is "face-saving" has also become a factor that Chinese consumers need to consider before buying confectionery. Therefore, Chinese confectionery manufacturers pay more attention to their brand propaganda while investing in research and development of more flavors. They spend a lot of money on celebrity endorsements. For example, a well-known confectionery company invites popular singers such as Wang Lihong and Twins to help out.
Third, the increasing demand for personalization has led manufacturers to further segment their products and strive for innovation. Now, consumers no longer regard candy as a general enjoyable consumer product, and the functionality of candy has also been greatly improved. For example, wedding candy to be used for weddings; gift boxes for festive occasions; These require manufacturers to pay attention to the consumption needs of different consumers while pursuing candy flavors. Compared with the general market division in the past, the market division is now more detailed.
Fourth, manufacturers will develop more low-sugar, sugar-free candy. Today, consumers are increasingly concerned about their own health, and many medical institutions are also promoting the benefits of less sugar on the human body. In recent years, sugar-free confectionery such as xylitol is very popular. Not only sugar-free chewing gum has appeared, but also sugar-free confectionery and sugar-free dessert suitable for patients with diabetes. The "sugar-free" label has really caught the eye of consumers.
China's confectionery industry will still have "sweetness" in the next 10-15 years. Because China still needs a large number of domestic confectionery brands to fill the market gap. However, in the next 10 years, the confectionery industry will also face fierce competition, because the entry barrier for the confectionery industry is low. And Chinese local confectionery brands will also face the same competition with foreign confectionery brands. Only in the future, Chinese confectionery manufacturers will pay more attention to market segmentation, understand consumer demand, and carry forward the spirit of innovation in order to occupy a favorable position in the confectionery industry.