Halloween has “slipped” into the Italian calendars and beyond, even in Spain in recent years is depopulated. This is demonstrated by the figures in the candy and confectionery sector, sales increased by up to 50% compared to the turnover of five years ago in the Spanish market.
Candies, gums and chocolate are the main elements to celebrate this feast of American origin, besides the costumes and the terrifying decorations. According to the Spanish Sweet Association (Produlce), Halloween has acquired such importance that it already concentrates 10% of annual sales for various companies in the sector. “It has established itself as one of the most significant periods of the year for our sector,” explains Rubén Moreno, Produlce’s general secretary.
“Furthermore, it represents an excellent showcase for Spanish brands to show their ingenuity and their deep commitment to innovation, surprising the consumer with new products and formats of festive themes“, he adds. In fact, if Spain imported Halloween, the industry exported Spanish sweets to the United States. Spanish exports of candy and tires grew by 2.9%, compared to the previous year’s figures, according to data from the latest Produlce report, corresponding to 2018 and reaching 386 million euros. The main market is the United States, which bought Spanish sweets for 63 million euros last year.
“The continued growth in the US market in recent years, along with a decline in exports to France in the last year, place the United States as the main destination for exports in this category. Candies and chewing gum produced in Spain triumph in the United States, both at Halloween and at other times of the year. And this is a source of pride for the entire industry and a message to the world that we are doing things well, “says Rubén Moreno.
The candies and chewing gum are the cutting edge of the sector, even during this festival in which we celebrate the night of October 31st. These products represent half of the sales value of the entire category (49.9%), followed by harder sweets (27.3%) and chewing gum (22.7%). In the case of chocolates, Halloween represents a very favorable occasion for products such as snacks and bars, which throughout the year contribute 15.3% of the value of sales, cocoa (23.7%) and chocolates (15.9 %). As in the domestic market, even soft candies demonstrate its hegemony in the foreign market, where it already represents 67.3% of the total export value. We can say that almost 8 kilograms out of 10 sold abroad correspond to this category and also about 7 out of 10 euros invoiced. Followed by hard and other types of candy (30.2% of the total export value) and chewing gum (2.5%). Trick or treat
