One in ten chocolate tablets a Romanian ate in the first half was a no-name chocolate product, according to ZF estimates.
Private labels of store chains like Carrefour, Kaufland and Mega Image therefore took the top spot on the market after having secured this position on other markets such as soap and vegetable oil, according to the latest market data. However, Vektor Marktforschung shows private labels as a whole, so the private labels of the major stores account for less of the market. The chocolate market put at 1.4 billion lei (EUR310.3 million) a year is dominated by imports, considering the best-selling brands like Milka and Poiana are not made in Romania.
Romania is close to the bottom of the chocolate consumption ranking in Europe, but consumption is rising.
Number two in the chocolate sales ranking in Romania is Mondelez’s Milka. Mondelez has three of the top five positions, with Milka, Poiana and Africana. Mondelez no longer has any chocolate factory in Romania.
The fifth best-selling chocolate brand is Laura made by Kandia Dulce, the largest chocolate producer in Romania. Kandia Dulce and its sister company Heidi Chocolat are the biggest chocolate producers on a market that has been flooded by imports in the past few years. Heidi Chocolat sells about 50% of its production abroad, while Kandia Dulce focuses on the local market with a brand portfolio that includes Rom, Magura, Fagaras and Kandia.
Some of the private label chocolate may be made in Romania, but the major store chains do not reveal such information. (EUR1=RON4.5110)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)