Singapore's Chocolate And Cocoa Confectionery Industry And Competitive Landscape 2023

Industry Landscape

Demand Conditions 

• In 2022, Singapore's imports of chocolate and confectionery containing cocoa (HS code 1806) amounted to USD 240 million in dollar terms (up more than 30% YoY) while exports were more than double that at USD 560 million (up 10% YoY). In volume terms, Singapore's imports of chocolate and confectionery containing cocoa amounted to 29.8 million kilograms (also up over 30% YoY), while export volumes were more than four times higher at 121 million kilograms (down 4.7% YoY).

• At just 2 kilograms per capita according to latest available data (considerably lower than developed economies like Australia at 5 kilograms per person despite ranking second in the world in terms of per capita incomes on a purchasing power parity basis in 2022), Singapore's chocolate consumption has room to grow. 

Supply Factors 

• Singapore has significant domestic cocoa processing facilities with the country's exports of value-added intermediate cocoa products notably cocoa powder (HS code 1805), and cocoa butter (HS code 1804) being considerably higher than imports while the opposite is true for commodity cocoa products such as cocoa paste (HS code 1803) and cocoa beans (HS code 1801) for which Singapore's imports are higher than exports. 

• Due to land constraints, cacao cultivation in Singapore is nearly nil (the FAO has no available data on cacao acreage in Singapore), however interest in tree-to-bar chocolate is spurring interest in cacao cultivation; renowned chef Janice Wong made headlines in a few years ago with her initiative to plant 1,000 cocoa trees in the country. 

Trends And Opportunities

• Rising interest in dark chocolate due to growing awareness of the health benefits associated with dark chocolate consumption is a potential opportunity. Google search trends reveal a moderate but consistent increase in the search term "dark chocolate" in Singapore over the past several years.

Competitive Landscape

Cadbury 

• Mondelez-owned chocolate brand Cadbury is a major player in Singapore. Their product assortment includes chocolate tablets, countlines, individually wrapped chocolates, chocolate drinks, and baking mixes across a variety of packaging formats (including flow wraps, boxes, jars, and pouches), sold under a portfolio of sub-brands (including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Old Gold, Cadbury Flake, and Cadbury Crunchie), mostly serving the mass market category. Cadbury's products are extensively distributed throughout Singapore across offline channels including convenience stores and supermarkets (such as Cold Storage and FairPrice), and online channels including eCommerce platforms (such as official stores on Shopee and Lazada). 

• Recent developments:

  • New product launches during the year include Cadbury Cookies featuring an indulgent chocolate center filling.

  • Cadbury continued to engage in aggressive marketing activity throughout the year with contests (such as buy and win, and Easter egg hunts), merchandise, giveaways, as well as philanthropic campaigns (to raise donations for earthquake victims in Syria and Türkiye).

Fossa Chocolate 

• Homegrown craft chocolatier Fossa Chocolate offers a product assortment of over 50 SKUs largely comprising chocolate tablets, and to a lesser extent dragees, and orangettes. The company differentiates themselves through their unique flavor offerings which includes localized flavors such as Satay Sauce, Nanyang Kopi, and Pineapple Tart, as well as exotic flavors from around the world such as Sake Kasu, and Spicy Mala. With prices ranging between SGD 10 - 15 per 50g bar, Fossa Chocolates are positioned at the premium end of the market (for perspective 100g Lindt Excellence bars retail at roughly half the price). Fossa Chocolate's channels include their direct-to-consumer online store on their website, as well as over offline sales points (over 20 locations across Singapore as at December 2023) comprising coffee shops and restaurants (such as The Caffeine Experience, Cavemen Restaurant & Bar), grocers (such as Little Farms), specialty retail stores (such as Seeds of Joy, MeatKrafters, Cat Socrates), and airport retail stores (Gift by Changi Airport). 

• Recent developments:

  • New product launches and re-introductions (including seasonal launches) were numerous during the year, many of them in collaboration with strategic partners. Over 15 new products were launched or re-introduced during the year (or more than one new product every month), around three of which were liquor chocolate bars (in collaboration with Singaporean whiskey bottler The Single Cask, and Singaporean craft brewer Niang Brewery). Several were launches of chocolate tablets with new flavors such as Chai, Teh Tarik, Sesame Crunch, Apple Cinnamon Dark Oat, Amanatsu and Mint, and Bee Pollen chocolate (in collaboration with the The Rare Honey Company), along with exotic flavors such as Matcha & Yuzu, Himalayan Royale Tips (in collaboration with tea company Pekoe & Imp), Qi Mountain Raw puer, Sansho Leaves Dong Ding Oolong, and Koushun Oolong Kamairacha among others. New product launches during the year also included almond dragees, a vegan version of their blueberry lavender oats chocolate bar, as well as a new addition to their single origin collection (Philippines Paqauibato 75% dark). Festive product launches included collections and gift sets for Christmas, Mid Autumn festival, Valentine's Day, and Chinese New Year.  

  • Non-chocolate product launches during the year were relative few, namely matcha shortbread cookies, and a cocoa-infused kombucha beverage in collaboration with homegrown kombucha maker Pourabucha. 

  • Marketing efforts included both online (notably social media promotion) and offline tactics, and heavily involved strategic partnerships. Examples include candles in collaboration with Singaporean small batch candle-maker Reminds Me Of, at least four workshops (including whiskey & chocolate pairing workshops in collaboration with The Single Cask, introductory workshops, chocolate appreciation workshops in collaboration withThe Rare Honey Company, and a mooncake crafting workshop), philanthropic initiatives (profits from limited edition Rebel's Bark-Wheat bars were donated to Voices for Animals), limited edition bundles of chocolate and nut pairings in collaboration with Seeds of Joy, chocolate tasting sessions, and giveaways among others.