India Sugar Confectionery Market Research Report, 2027

The Indian sugar confectionery market is still in its infancy, with consumption lower than in Western countries. The rural parts of India and some very interior places are yet to be explored. There lies immense potential in developing countries like India, as a result of which established players in the confectionery industry are expanding their horizons in developing countries. New players are also lured in by seeing the market potential and demand for different forms of confectioneries. Consumption in India remains low as confectionery is not a celebrated product. Even during festivals and special occasions, traditional sweets are preferred over chocolates or confectionaries. Except for leisure or birthday parties, confectioneries have no markets in India. Of late, the working population and travellers have developed the habit of indulging in confectioneries to refresh themselves.

According to the report titled "India Sugar Confectionary Market Research Report, 2027", published by Bonafide Research, the sugar confectionery market is to grow rapidly at a projected CAGR of around 12% over the forecast period. Though the market is small in size, it is expected to grow further with the change in consumer eating habits and changes in preferences. Lately, Indian sugar confectionery sales are picking up, and international brands are setting up manufacturing plants in developing countries like China and India. The demand for chewy, hard-boiled sweets and liquorice is high, whereas caramel and taffy are not much asked for by consumers. Sugar-free varieties are expected to be in great demand in the forecast period. Indians are used to buying daily needs and essentials from a nearby convenience shop rather than going to supermarkets like in western countries. Also, Indians prefer to buy candies as and when required rather than stocking up at home. Typically, the child is given a rupee or five to spend on candy from a nearby store. As a result of that, convenience stores have more revenue than supermarkets or other stores. Unlike in the western world, where adults consume more sugar confectionery, in India, it is the children in the age group of 1 to 20 yrs. In India, eating chocolates or candies is still limited to children.

Gradually, the scenario is changing, and consumers have moved to gifting chocolates or confectioneries during festivals like Raksha Bandhan, Diwali, or Christmas in India. This is due to the gifting boxes and festival or seasonal boxes created by companies to capture more markets. Christmas, corporations give their employees specially packed gift boxes containing high-priced and imported confectioneries; though celebrated in India, is on a much smaller scale and the exchanging of confectioneries or gifts is limited. E-commerce plays a vital role in pushing gift box sales upwards. Major players have partnered with e-commerce sites to promote and sell their products. Many local players have their own websites through which consumers can curate their own bouquet of confectioneries for a gift box.

The advertisement plays a major role in changing consumer minds and driving them to purchase the candy. Advertisements that are endorsed by famous Indian celebrities play an important role in driving buying needs. Not only kids, but adults and geriatrics are also fascinated by buying tempting candies. Companies have a major chunk of their expenditure on sales and promotion activities to attract a larger consumer base. Competitive prices also play an important role as buyers are in a win-win position. The advertisements have a catchy line, smart packaging and a variety of flavours.

Sugar confectionery in India is highly price sensitive as consumers here spend a very negligible amount. The children are also on a tight budget, with most of them having only one rupee to spend on their favourite candy. Due to this, the manufacturers face a lot of difficulties as they do not get many profit margins. Additionally, with the recent sugar price surging to new levels, the companies are in a difficult situation with no choice but to decrease the weight of candy with no price change. India imports sugar and other confectionery additions from Brazil, Thailand, the UK, Germany, China, Turkey, Nepal, and other countries in spite of India being the largest producer of sugar cane.

The first ever candy confectionery factory was set up by Mohanlal Chauhan in Mumbai, called Parle, inspired by the Swadeshi movement. The first candy introduced in India was orange candy, which was hand-sold around the country. With success, later on, peppermint and other flavours were launched. Their most famous creations were rola-cola, melody, poppins, kismi, and mango bite, which became traditional Indian candies. Even today, these are relished by generations and thereafter. In the 1940's, Rawalgaon saw a candy business uprising with pan pasand. Swad, the digestive candy, was introduced by Panjon. The Phantom sweet cigarettes by Harnik General Foods were a hit with kids due to their innovative look, appeal, and flavour. The most recent one being pulse, which revolutionised the candy industry in India. It was initially available in kacha aam flavour, but now it also comes in Guava, Orange, Pineapple, and Litchi flavours.

COVID-19's Impact 
Lockdowns in 2020 and continuing restrictions in 2021 disrupted the supply chain, posing challenges for manufacturers in the sugar confectionery market. In 2020, the pandemic outbreak deteriorated the category’s performance due to a reduction in impulse purchases amongst consumers. The sugar confectionery market suffered heavy losses during the pandemic as there was no impulse buying and, as it was not essential, consumers did not pay attention to them. Also, since the lockdowns were imposed, there were no gatherings, weddings, or birthday parties, and thus there were fewer people to be consumed. However, in 2021, the economy recovered at a slower pace than earlier. As Indian consumers were looking to minimise the time and money spent in stores, they focused on buying the essentials. Sugar confectionery is not essential and thus was not considered a priority. People tend to look for familiarity and affordable pleasures in times of crisis. That offers brands the opportunity to recapture consumers they may have lost and to gain new fans through great-tasting, fun products that also have functional benefits and better-for-you claims. Intense competition, pricing issues, and shifting consumer preferences will continue to put downward pressure on vendors’ profit margins.

Considered in this report

•    Geography: India
•    Historic year: 2016
•    Base year: 2021
•    Estimated year: 2022
•    Forecast year: 2027

Aspects covered in this report

•    India Sugar Confectionery market with its value and forecast along with its segments
•    Various drivers and challenges
•    On-going trends and developments
•    Top profiled companies
•    Strategic recommendation

By product type in the report:

•    Hard-boiled sweets
•    Plain Mints
•    Caramel/Taffy
•    Chewy
•    Novelty
•    Liquorice
•    Sugar-free
•    Others (Nut, coconut, marshmallows, fudges, medicated throat lozenges)

By sales channel in the report:

•    Supermarkets/ hypermarkets
•    Convenience stores
•    Pharmacy & drug stores
•    E-commerce retailers
•    Others 

By age group in the report:

•    Children (1-20 yrs)
•    Adult (21-55 yrs)
•    Geriatric (56 & above)

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and listing out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual report of companies, analyzing government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducted trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we have started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources. 

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to sugar confectionery industry, chocolate industry, government bodies and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.