Chocolate sales at Despar group

When I came back to Padua for Easter, I went to the supermarket and I thught that it could have been interesting to change my point of view: instead of focusing on only on production, why don’ t I analyse distribution too? So I asked the director of the Eurospar seat where my family is a regular client and where I was doing shopping that day, if he could supply me some information about the brands and kinds of products that they sell more. Unfortunatly each seat cannot release specific and technical datas, but he gave me the phone number of the Department, which controls the area of Triveneto and the city of Ferrara.

After one month Fabio Zurma, Sales Manager of the Despar group, seat of Mestrino(Padua) wrote me an e-mail containig some datas about the chocolate brands that they sell more in the area that they control (Triveneto+Ferrara).

This is what it came out, summerized in three graphics per :

– CHOCOBARS:

– CHOCOLATE CANDIES:

– CHOCO SNACKS:

What can we say?

First, that my predictions about the “Majors” were in part true, concerning Nestlè and Ferrero, and in part false because I’ ve never considered Loaker and Kraft Foods. That means I have too review the category! 🙂

Second, that my favourite chocolate brand Lindt owns less that the 10% of the market, which is a lot for a single company, but not enough to have the leadership and to compete with Ferrero. Moreover Lindor candies, my favourite candies, are supposed to be among the most sold in the market, but they strongly suffer for the competition of Poket-coffee, Mon cheri, Ferero Rocher, Raffaello…

Third, that an old company like Zaini, founded in 1913, still survives in the same market of huge multinationals like Nestlè, it means that they were able to develope a competitive value, difficult to copy and that they differenciated production during the time, conquering free niches and several targets.