21st Jan 2011 - 00:00
Abstract
Valued Opinions has revealed that the UK has the second highest consumption of chocolate per person in Europe, and that the confectionary market is worth a staggering £4 billion.
The online poll asked about favourite types of chocolate with two thirds of Brits (66%) liking milk chocolate the best whilst 22% prefer dark chocolate and 12% would choose white chocolate. Just 1% of all respondents of the online opinion poll didn't like chocolate at all, reflecting the fact that for most of the people in Britain, chocolate is a luxury they can't live without. Most chocolate produced for the UK market is milkier and contains less cocoa than chocolate in the rest of Europe. In 2003, the Food Standards Authority was pleased when the EU regulations allowed British chocolate to have 20% (rather than the former 25%) cocoa solids in order to be classified as real chocolate. It might not be good quality and it's certainly not healthy, but market research shows that Britons like cheap, sweet, milky chocolate and the FSA argues that they should be allowed to continue making and eating it.