The research was conducted every four weeks throughout 2016 by the market intelligence firm.
In 2016, 68.4% of the population (or just over 13.5 million people aged over 14) ate some kind of chocolate in an average four weeks, up from 65.3% (12.5 million) in 2013, Roy Morgan’s data reveals.
“Consumed by 53.2% of Australians, up from 47.9% in 2013, chocolate bars are most popular, followed by blocks (41.8%, up from 40.2%) and boxed chocolates (19.2%, up from 16.5%),” the market research firm said.
Boxed chocolate offers retail experiences
Even though boxed chocolates are generally purchased as a gift, Roy Morgan also found 73.4% of Australians who buy them in an average four weeks eat them too.
“This suggests that giving boxed chocolates is just part of the equation, with the subsequent act of sharing them almost as important—a tasty example of the broader retail trend of ‘experiences over things’,” the company said.
Roy Morgan’s CEO Michele Levine said: “In today’s retail landscape, with its gradual shift away from buying things in flavor of experiences, boxed chocolate offers the best of both.”
Premium is more popular among boxed chocolate
Some of the best-selling boxed chocolate brands include Cadbury Favorites, Lindt Lindor Balls, Ferrero Rocher, Lindt and Cadbury Roses, the same survey said.
However, some boxed chocolates experience a higher crossover between buying and eating, as the data suggested more premium brands such as Lindt and Ferrero Rocher are consumed by a higher proportion of buyers than traditional Cadbury classics.
Among the premium brands, Ferrero Rocher, has the highest percentage of buyers who also eat the brand per four weeks (74.3%), Roy Morgan said, compared to Lindor Balls at 74.2% and Lindt, 71.9%.
Ferrero recently acquired Chicago-based confectionery brand, Fannie May Confections, to expand its footprints in the US premium chocolate market, this site previously reported.