Demand for Confectionary and Pastry Products is Forecast to Rise

February 2015 – The results of a current market research analysis on confectionary and pastry evidence that the craving for all things sweets does not stop with Christmas. The results say: be it chocolate, sugar confectionary or fruit jelly – everyone big and small, young and old has a sweet tooth, and what is more, they do so all year round.

The success of sweets is increasingly attributed to their packaging, which is expected to guarantee the high quality of the goods in terms of taste, substance and looks along the entire supply chain. So the task for sweets manufacturers is to always be a step ahead of the competition, to cater to shoppers’ needs and come up with new developments. Alongside appealing packaging design and an environment-friendly selection of materials, product placement and PoS display are increasingly moving to the foreground. After evaluating the “Technavio” report, analysts expect promising solutions. The forecast expects a compound annual growth rate of 5.26% over the coming four years.

The report evaluates the as-is state of the global confectionary and pastry market considering the future economic and political factors. The study focused on the current market top dogs in the three confectionary and pastry segments in view of regional specificities but also the choice and use of materials taking societal trends into account. Especially the demand from developing countries and creative innovations in packaging are expected to boost future growth.

As far as we know today, chocolate was wrapped with printed paper and sealed with wax in 1850 for the first time. Some 60 years later the first wrapping machines replaced this manual work. In today’s packaging operations you will find high-performance machines that can wrap over 300 bars with aluminium foil every minute. And requirements are high: the melting point of chocolate is below human body temperature – so to prevent the fat from staining paper, cardboard and foil cooling material impermeable to light is needed. At the same time, closures should be as easy to open for senior citizens as they are inaccessible for kids. For mass-produced items the product packaging should be as eye-catching and appealing at the PoS as possible, while for luxury articles or gifts they should above all generate high-quality visual stimuli. Furthermore, the material selection must take production costs and processability into consideration as well as sustainability.