Even in a recession, frugal consumers shell out cash for popular
premium chocolate, but the variety they purchase depends on its value,
quality and manufacturer.
Analysts said trendy, pricier premium cocoa varieties promote
chocolate consumption growth. Throngs of products from smaller
specialty as well as major chocolate manufacturers line store shelves.
But consumers are buying the sweets less often and more
discriminatively as household incomes contract with the U.S. recession
and world economic crisis.
"Chocolate may very well be recession-proof – it's just a matter of
how much consumers want to pay for it," said Krista Faron, senior
analyst at Mintel, a market-research company, in Chicago. | FULL STORY
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