Indians love chocolate; purchased 2,28,000 tonne in 2016, leaving behind US

India posted the highest growth in retail sales ofchocolates at 13% between 2015 and 2016, leaving behind the United States,United Kingdom and China.

 India consumed awhopping 228,000 tonne of chocolates in 2016, being among the only two marketsto see sales of chocolates grow in 2016, according to London-based globalmarket firm Mintel.

Poland is the only other market to clock a positive growthat 3%. In contrast, Australia and Indonesia consumed 95,000 tonne and 94,000tonne, respectively.

 Sales in the UnitedStates, United Kingdom, Germany and France were flat over this period, whilesales fell in Russia (-2%), Brazil (-6%), and China (-6%), according to thestudy. Mintel also said that India is now one of the world's fastest growingchocolate confectionery markets.

India's market has had a strong CAGR (compound annual growthrate) of 19.9%, in retail market value, between 2011 and 2015, and is expectedto grow at a CAGR of 20.6% from 2016 to 2020, the study said. "Chocolateconfectionery had an uneven year in 2016.

Volume sales in developed markets remained flat, while thepicture was a bit brighter in emerging markets, like India, where salesgenerally fared better," said Marcia Mogelonsky, director of insight,Mintel Food and Drink.

Our research indicates that consumers in India believechocolate to be beneficial and convenient seemingly the key reasons behind thegrowth of the country's chocolate confectionery market both in value andvolume, Mogelonsky said.

 According to aconsumer study by Mintel, 42% Indian consumers have eaten sweet or sugarysnacks (other than biscuits) like chocolates and cakes in the past threemonths, rising to 53% of consumers aged 18 to 24.

Mintel research also revealed that over two in five Indianconsumers (44%) find sweet or sugary snacks like chocolates and cakes to behealthy