Chocolate hospitality market melts away

Premium chocolate sales across the Middle East’s hotel industry have slowed down according to Dubai-based chocolatier ChoCo’a.

The firm, which claimed its retail sector had continued to perform well, said its sales in the hospitality industry had fallen during the past few months.

ChoCo’a LLC managing director Assem Hamzeh said: “Our monthly orders in this industry for each client can be as high as 200kg of chocolate, however lower occupancy rates in recent months means that this part of our business has seen a considerable slowdown."

Despite admitting the slowdown had taken a bite out of the industry, Hamzed noted: “We have a strong footing in the wholesale hospitality industry and are retained by some of the UAE’s and Oman’s most prestigious five-star hotels.”

Hamzed said that the demand for chocolate had more to do with the consumer’s mood “rather than consumer pockets”.

“It’s all about confidence, a key human characteristic that dictates happiness levels and the propensity of humans to celebrate a special occasion or simply allow a personal indulgence,” he commented.

While the premium chocolate market for the region’s hospitality industry slowed down, retail demand continued to grow.

“Our March retail sales grew by 67% year-on-year, while our April figures also increased by 23%,” claimed Hamzed. 

“We remain optimistic about the outlook for the rest of 2009, especially with the UAE wedding season and the Holy Month of Ramadan still ahead of us.”

ChoCo’a hospitality business is spread across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, with retail operations in the UAE, Germany and Azerbaijan.

The firm will continue to battle the economic downturn with its expansion plans across the Middle East including a new “state-of-the-art” chocolate factory set to begin operations next year.