As the biggest chocolate company in the world, we investigated the key reasons consumers eat chocolate.  The reasons we discovered are on the indulgence side:

• # 1 : Treat myself: 51% of global consumers¹ said they eat chocolate to treat themselves. This shows consumers see chocolate as an all around pleasure.
• # 2 : Satisfy a craving: The reason that 47% of global consumers¹ indicated for eating chocolate was to satisfy a craving. Chocolate can also be an energy-fueling food.
• # 3 : To indulge: For 45% of global consumers¹, they eat chocolate to indulge. Chocolate is the ultimate mood-boosting food.

When asked which product they would choose to consume if they were to celebrate something (ex. for a birthday, promotion, anniversary, a small celebration just because, etc), 51% of global consumers said chocolate!¹

Even though indulging and celebrating remains very important to consumers, they increasingly want to take care of their own personal health. Our research has shown that 78% of consumers agree that chocolate needs to be tasty and good for me.¹ This has been reinforced by the pandemic. At the same time, they want to care for other people and the environment. We call this Mindful Indulgence. The triple play: tasty and good for me and the planet (= the environment and other people). Such products can be created in multiple ways: with plant-based ingredients only, reducing sugar, organic products, or sustainable products. But they need to taste great, too!