Premium chocolates are a growing industry. Here is a summary report free from Jan 2022 from TechSci Research. They are claiming a growing market for the next few years of about 7.5%. This is plausible, as I have been saying for years. It's been growing at that rate for years, with no sign of slowing down.
So I was pleased that VANA started pushing premium chocolates into their retail shops. I have no idea how good the company they are pushing is, but it does have a 5-star rating online, and their entry-level order is reasonable. They look small which may be a plus as small producers will be something unique but a negative for marketing. Large brands may pay small margins but they do move product.
Since it is in the market space of our software, here are insights, I have seen from some of our clients that are marketing premium chocolates now.
Here is the first one. The biggest issue in this market is that premium chocolates are very seasonal, unlike the regular chocolate market. If you are not in it, you probably don't realise how seasonal-driven it is. The longest season is Christmas, which will give you about six weeks. Easter is also good, but that only gives you about two weeks. Easter can be a pain to plan for as it moves every year. That means most of the year it is a little more than breakeven. Though I will say that Valentine's Day was good but that is only one day.
To be successful here, you need to create some retail theatre. You'll want to change your window displays frequently and keep your range current.
It is not a "set up and forget" type of business, but then again, nothing is "set up and forget."
My first piece of advice would be to go around your local shopping area and check out what others are doing here.
