Identifying your customers

The more you know about your customers, the more productive your marketing and sales efforts will be. Therefore, you will have to know their reasons for buying and their requirements. You will find that there are several different consumer profiles. As a result, you will have to adapt your offering and position your brand accordingly.

Purchase drivers

Back to childhood

Consumers’ earliest memories of chocolate go back to their early childhood. The memories are often associated with grandparents and the joys of childhood.

“When I was little, my grandmother would visit every week and bring each of us a box of pralines. We were thrilled even though we could only eat one praline a day. To make the pleasure last, I collected the wrappers: I carefully ironed out the silver, gold, red, pink and blue wrappers with my fingers. I put them in a pretty box. I was very proud of my collection”, remembers Viviane, 62.

Chocolatiers often use those memories. The search for the tastes of childhood and for memories is carried out via innovative combinations of artisanal ingredients and ancestral techniques. For example, gingerbread, butter-flavoured biscuits and cuberdon¹.

Yunus, 26, who has been a chocolate lover since he was a young child, confirm this: “One of my first memories is of the chocolate cones wrapped in gold paper my grandmother would buy me for big occasions. I always feel nostalgic when I see them again”. 

Exploring new sensations

Pralines involve surprise, discovery and mystery. Beyond the first, visible layer of chocolate is the heart of the praline, which is the unknown, what you discover with the first bite. “There are many different tastes and textures in a praline. You never know what you’re going to find”, continues Yunus, 26.

All of the sensations, tastes and feelings, which have always been created in the consumer are, clearly, their main reason for purchasing.

A moment of personal pleasure and of sharing

The world of pralines and chocolate is symbolically rich and powerful: it stirs up feelings, especially in very young people. The awakening of the senses creates a range of different sensations and reactions...which are often in contradiction.

Chocolate is generally appreciated because it is “sweet and silky” but it is also perceived as “fatty” and “it makes you gain weight”. These opposites were also voiced by the panel and they lead to the different ways the sweets are consumed. While for some people chocolate is nearly always bought to be shared, to please and to give as as gift, for others, it reflects selfishness and a “forbidden pleasure”.

“Chocolate is immediately connected to the seven deadly sins, to both gluttony and greed. You want to keep all of the chocolates for yourself and to taste them all”, says Anémone, 32.

As a result, it’s possible to transpose the concept of Yin and Yang used in the advertising created by Daniel Solana² to the world of chocolate.

⁽¹⁾ Wagralim. (2016). Secteur du chocolat en Belgique : un regard sur les opportunités et pistes d’innovation. [online]. Wagralim – Competitiveness cluster – Agri-industry, Wavre. Available at: http://info.wagralim.be/rapport-sur-le-chocolat

⁽²⁾ Solana, D. (2014). Hablando de Pospublicidad, Barcelona.

New expectations

Healthy, sustainable products

“In addition to their desire for smaller products, consumers have also expressed their interest in products that are not as sweet, for more transparency and for authenticity”. Pierre Marcolini

For several years now, chocolate has had to adapt to consumer habits and has been following the same trend as other gourmet foods. Consumers have become more aware and more demanding. They are more demanding both in terms of the product and of its provenance. Customers now also want to see the production process.

Although the general public is fairly receptive, a number of chocolatiers still have work to do to provide consumers with better information. The origin of the products and the manufacturing processes are not yet emphasised enough and don’t provide enough differentiation between the different types of chocolate.

“Customers don’t know enough and there don’t have enough information. Consumers really have to be informed about what they are eating and about the various players in the sector”, says Björn Becker.

Surprise and variety

While it is often believed that young consumers insist the most on healthy and fair trade products, changes in habits are also being seen in older people. The latter are looking for purer chocolate, including 70% (or more) dark chocolate.

There is also increasing demand for salty chocolate. This has led to the use of white chocolate sauces in savoury dishes and an increasing demand for the butter salted caramel taste.

Consumers also want to be surprised and have a new experience when they taste chocolate. The experience can be created by combining different tastes and textures in a single product (crunchy, soft, fondant, tangy, etc.). There is also growing interest in new uses for chocolate (as a spice, in sauces, for starters and in wine and beer).

Lastly, consumers are taking to the Do It Yourself (DIY) concept. Promoting chocolate also includes the transfer of knowledge and education. It can also be valuable to give chocolate fans the opportunity to create their own combinations in more modern and light premises (as opposed to the traditional baroque atmosphere of chocolate shops) which can be sensory concept stores.

Smaller pralines

Fashions and the cost of raw materials have also had an impact on the product. Ever since 1995 (the year Pierre Marcolini was crowned World Champion Pastry Chef), chocolate has been sold in increasingly smaller sizes. Before that, it was often sold in 1 kg, and even 1.5 kg boxes. Now, boxes rarely exceed 320g in shops, particularly in those of new-generation chocolatiers. 

Pralines have also become much smaller than they were before. They’ve decreased from 12-15 g (20 years ago) to 8-10 g today.

Chocolate is primarily seen as a product eaten for pleasure which consumers have trouble doing without, despite the difficult economic environment. As a result, the smaller sizes have become standard. Concepts which favour mini-sizes in larger resealable packaging are increasing. When production costs increase, the size of chocolate bars tends to decrease to ensure sales to the general public at a comparable price³.

⁽³⁾ Wagralim. (2016). Le secteur du chocolat en Belgique : un regard sur les opportunités et pistes d’innovation. [online]. Wagralim – Competitiveness cluster – Agri-industry, Wavre. Available at: http://info.wagralim.be/rapport-sur-le-chocolat

Two consumer profiles

Understanding customers - their needs, their feelings, etc. - is obviously important for selling your company’s products or services. The way you address them or highlight certain product qualities or services depends on their profile, their tastes, the criteria they favour when purchasing, and anything negative that might stop them from buying. In other words, you won’t sell the same way to everyone. As a result, it’s important to analyse your customer segment.

Two consumer profiles were identified during an analysis of a consumer panel.