As Butter is equivalent to Amul, Chocolate Spread is equivalent to Nutella: Bonafide Research

Italian confectionery giant Ferrero is the other name for chocolate spreads in the country, as it is having a predominating share in the chocolate spread market, primarily due to its popularity on the social media, especially among the elite consumers.
Most recently, Nutella has caught the fancy of the urban youth who use it in innovative ways to make breakfast more appealing. It is a cool brand for young and old people, and it also enjoys the tag of being a western favorite, and this perception is being encashed by the company in a way that has led to word-of-mouth branding, especially among the young elite class of the country, who love to share their regimens with a hashtag.
According to the report on India Spread (Jam, Honey, Butter, Cheese, Choco) Market Outlook, 2023′ published by Bonafide Research, the chocolate spreads market in the country is expected to rise up to more than INR 300 crores in the forecast period 2022-23 owing to the factors like widespread acceptance of bread in daily diets majorly among the urban population. Also, increasing use of chocolate spreads as a substitute to butter owing to its low-fat content, high nutritive value, and easy spread-ability at refrigeration temperatures over food products such as ice cream toppings, croissants, instant hot chocolate are some of the key factors bolstering the market growth. The total chocolate spread market is anticipated to have a growth rate of more than 15% during the forecast period. Though, it has a negligible market share in the total spread market around 4%.
The increasing trend of sanctification will add up to the growth of the chocolate spread market during the forecast period. In addition to this, the chocolate hazelnut spread is becoming an integral part of every breakfast. Manufacturers are also offering low calorie, gluten-free and reduced-fat chocolate hazelnut spread to cater to the surging demand from the health-conscious people, especially in the developed markets.
Nutella has two types of variants under chocolate spread: Chocolate Spread and Hazelnut Spread with Cocoa. Ferrero is manufacturing chocolate spread domestically, while it imports hazelnut spread. It is significant that even though Nutella has not launched any advertising campaign in the country for its chocolate spread, the company has managed to gain a dominating share in the market. It is so because people are now aware of the product due to word-of-mouth. Its major rivalry is with Hershey’s choco spread and Dr. Oetker’s Funfoods in India.
Chocolate spreads are majorly consumed majorly as a spread on toasts, bread, and other bakery products such as pancakes, muffins, pitas, and waffles. The plain chocolate spread is dominating the market with more than 65% share, and this is expected to decrease in the future. An increasing trend in the market is on the account of increasing awareness for healthy breakfast, rising consumer expenditure on ready-to-eat food items, and the presence of a comparatively higher number of Tier-l and Tier-ll cities, which are the major demand generators of chocolate spreads in the country.
‘India Spread (Jam, Honey, Butter, Cheese, Choco) Market Outlook, 2023’ gives a comprehensive analysis of the Spread industry in India. The India Spread market majorly consists of cheese spread, butter spread, peanut spread, honey spread, chocolate spread, jams, jellies and preserves, and other spreads like sandwich spread, green chutney, imly chutney, etc.
Among all, the honey spread is dominating the market with more than 50% share, owing to its health benefits, such as antimicrobial and immunity-boosting properties. Honey and Butter is the major contributor having more than 75% of the market share in the year 2016-17. All these products are segmented into their types and end-users i.e. retail and institutional. Another spread which includes green chutney, special sandwich spread, imly chutney, etc is expected to have a market value around INR 125 crore at the end of the forecast period. And it has the highest CAGR during the review period which was more than 25%. Jams, Jellies and Preserve have the least growth rate being the oldest category after honey in the country. Retail sales have dominance over institutional in the overall spread market in the year 2016-17.