Taste is the most important driver when purchasing chocolate, soft chew, hard and prepackaged cotton candy. This is according to a new study from Comax Flavors on consumers’ behavior, usage and attitudes on confectionery, focusing on younger consumers.  

“Chocolate and candy are innovative segments that foster creativity in flavors, textures and packaging and we wanted to understand children better,” says Catherine Armstrong, vice president of corporate communications for Comax Flavors.

This is the eighteenth study of the company’s primary market research program. 

It was fielded in June 2019 with 1,200 US adults, half of whom were parents of children aged three to 17. 

Chocolate candy 
Taste is the number one driver of chocolate candy purchases, with almost two-thirds (61 percent) of respondents citing it as an essential attribute. 

Of all the varieties of chocolate, milk chocolate is the most preferred. 

Seventy percent of children like milk chocolate candy bars while almost one-third enjoy white chocolate (30 percent), and more than a quarter eat dark chocolate (27 percent) candy bars. 

Peanut butter flavor is popular in the segment. 

Soft chew candy 
Taste (59 percent) is the most important attribute and number one driver of soft chew candy purchase intent followed by the type of candy (58 percent). 

Berry flavor reigns in the segment. 

Meanwhile, children of all ages eat “berry combo” flavors (48 percent) coated soft sours while three to five-year-olds (90 percent) are the most frequent consumers compared to nine to 11-year-olds (21 percent). 

Hard candy 
Taste is the number one driver of hard candy purchases, with more than half (55 percent) of respondents citing it as the most important attribute. 

Strawberry and watermelon are prominent flavors in the segment. 

More than half of children (53 percent) eat strawberry flavors, making it the most popular hard candy flavor. Twelve to 14-year-olds (78 percent) and three to five-year-olds (67 percent) are the heaviest consumers of strawberry hard candy. 

Strawberry (56 percent) is the favorite hard candy filled with a center flavor among all children except six to eight-year-olds who equally prefer caramel, raspberry, and pineapple flavors. 

Prepackaged cotton candy 
More than half (56 percent) of respondents cite taste as the most critical attribute driving prepackaged cotton candy purchase intent. 

Half of the children surveyed consume strawberry prepackaged cotton candy, making it the number one flavor consumed by children of all ages. 

Blue raspberry is the second most popular flavor, with almost half of children (48 percent) citing it. 

Mindful consumption prevails
According to Innova Market Insights, chocolate, confectionery and ice cream manufacturers are increasingly demanding suitable ingredients to keep pace with todays mindful consumers seeking clean labels, organic, sugar reduction and more. 

Statistics show a 21 percent increase in chocolate, confectionery and ice cream launches with a sugar-related claim (Global, 2019 vs. 2018). 

Meanwhile, consumers have developed a taste for a simple ingredients list with two in three global consumers specifically wanting to avoid products with ingredients that are difficult to understand.