Vegan Chocolate: From Niche to Mainstream

19-Dec-2019 - Germany

The confectionery company Mars recently launched a new range of vegan chocolate bars under its Galaxy brand - and thus initiated the company's first venture into the vegan segment. Admittedly, this undertaking has caused many headlines. Finally, Mars claims to be the first large confectionery group to offer a vegan alternative to cow's milk-based chocolate treats.

Vegan chocolate arrives, but is still rare seeded

With the growing interest in the vegan diet, chocolate manufacturers must also enter new territory. What some people don't know, though: Many products have always been vegan. Most dark chocolate specialities on the market naturally do not require milk, to name just one example. The major change for the industry is therefore to replace the cow's milk contained in some products with vegetable milk. However, this type of milk-free product is still relatively rare.

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According to Mintel's Global New Product Database (GNPD), between December 2015 and November 2019 only 5 percent of all global chocolate launches were vegan. Products containing vegan milk substitutes account for a smaller proportion.

British prefer milk chocolate

In the UK, over 8 out of 10 chocolate consumers prefer milk chocolate, almost twice as many as those who prefer dark or white varieties. Galaxy expects that people will also pay more attention to vegan options when buying sweets in the future and is therefore already preparing for the future.

Almost a quarter of British consumers drink vegetable milk, but this is not easily translated into the automatic popularity of vegan milk chocolate varieties. In order to take a closer look at the market potential, it is worth taking a look at the consumption of plant drinks. These are usually consumed in hot drinks or together with muesli and porridge, but are (still) rarely used as product ingredients. Further proof that the vegan Galaxy series is an important step forward for Mars.

Taste and price must be right

Despite their trend-setting character one should not forget, however, that the vegan chocolate bars of Galaxy must be able to compete with other offers on the market in terms of taste and price. Almost all British chocolate consumers agree that taste is the most important factor when choosing chocolate. According to a Mintel survey, 42 percent of British Galaxy buyers find the brand's bars delicious. However, if the use of vegan milk changes the taste, consumers could look for other options.
Classically, the price also plays an important role in the purchase decision. At 3 pounds for a 100-gram bar, Galaxy's milk-free products are twice as expensive as regular offers. Despite the continuing vegan hype, manufacturers must therefore also convince in the traditional disciplines of taste and price if they want to outperform their competitors.

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

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