At swop 2017, Nov. 7-10 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), a large number of internationally advanced and innovative processing and packaging products for the confectionery and bakery sectors will be showcased. Several leading European confectionery processing and packaging machinery manufacturers have registered for the exhibition with the goal of supplying Chinese and Asian dessert industries with advanced products and high quality services – among them the German exhibitors Theegarten-Pactec, Chocotech, Winkler+Dünnebier, Hänsel Processing, LoeschPack and Hansa Mixer.
According to statistics, the total output value of China’s candies and chocolates from Jan-Oct 2016 reached approx. EUR 7.6 billion, with a cumulative growth rate of 17.64%. Data also show, that China’s candy and chocolate market has an annual average growth rate, which is nearly 6% higher than that of the global candy & chocolate market, presenting a consumption potential of as high as approx. EUR 2.55 billion. In Switzerland, the annual chocolate consumption per capita is 10kg, while only 40-70g in China. This means, that China will become the world’s largest chocolate market as soon as its annual consumption per capita reaches 1kg. Therefore, China has become the chocolate market with the highest development potential and has drawn the attention of all the main chocolate brands in the world. Mondelez has recently announced its decision to officially introduce a new chocolate brand into China, becoming another foreign enterprise entering the mainland Chinese market following Mars, Ferrero, Nestle and Hershey.
China’s confectionery manufacturers on the other hand are not as competitive compared to international brands in terms of taste, and packaging. For example COFCO, the largest food manufacturing company in China, has announced its decision to sell the chocolate brand Leconte last year. Zhu Danpeng, a researcher in the Chinese food & beverage industry, said Leconte used to rank among the top ten chocolate brands in China, and the announcement of the sale showed that the company was no longer among the ten mainstream chocolate brands in China. Moreover, other domestic chocolate brands have stayed completely out of the mainstream market. According to research, the inferior position of domestic chocolate brands can mainly be attributed to a lack of investment in production, R&D, processing, manufacturing, packaging, design, marketing and promotion.
Chinese confectionery enterprises must focus on cultivating their brands, by introducing advanced technology and equipment, strengthening innovation while developing new flavors, new functions, new processes, new packages, new designs and so forth, in order to enhance market competitiveness. When selecting packaging materials for confectionery including candies and chocolates, the value of advanced processing and packaging technology along with modern production lines cannot be underestimated. At swop 2017, visitors can learn more about these innovative products. In addition, famous candy & chocolate manufacturers such as Ferrero, Hershey, Callebaut, UHA, Meiji, GLICO, Lindt, Hsu Fu Chi, Oishi etc. have been pre-registered to visit swop 2017.
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