Chocolate sales were down 7% last Easter: here are the local chocolatiers we should support this year

A decline in gifting opportunities including at Easter and the fall-off in duty-free airport traffic, particularly tourists, have significantly impacted chocolate sales

Sun, 04 Apr, 2021 - 08:12

Jennifer Stevens

There was an early casualty in the global pandemic that hasn’t been talked enough about – Easter eggs. While we were shopping more than ever at the start of Lockdown One last March and hoarding pasta and toilet paper to beat the band, one thing that wasn’t on the top of our shopping lists were Easter Eggs. Turns out if you can’t see all the chocolate lovers in your life the one thing you don’t need to stock up on are delicious eggs stuffed with sweets.

In the UK, despite there being a 9.1% surge in general grocery sales, the purchase of chocolate eggs and the associated Easter novelties slumped 10.4% to £305.3. And while that still sounds like a lot of money spent on eggs that amounts to a decline worth £35.5 million.

Blame was placed on terrible sales in the face of a locked-down Easter and prices that were slashed as the major supermarkets tried to shift the stock they had left.

Things were just as bad in Ireland. While supermarkets here were reporting huge growth in some areas, the Easter Bunny was left disappointed by egg sales and there was a 7% decline in the purchase of chocolate treats between Easter week 2020 and the same week in 2019.

The pandemic has meant that some of the traditional retail outlets for artisan chocolatiers have been unavailable for much of the last year. A Bord Bia report noted that while chocolate confectionary export values grew by an estimated 6% to €238m, there have been challenges for chocolate manufacturers who play in a more premium space.

A decline in impulse shopping, gifting opportunities including at Easter and the fall-off in duty-free airport traffic, particularly tourists, have significantly impacted sales.

Of course, the people who suffer most in any sector downturn like this are the smaller, independent producers and when it comes to chocolate, Ireland has many of them. We’ve all been making a conscious effort to support Irish businesses and shop local over the last twelve months and we can absolutely do the same when making our Easter plans.

Sending family and friends something delicious and Irish this year is a great way to show them you’re thinking of them while supporting some truly amazing artisan chocolatiers.

Hazel Mountain chocolate is made in the Burren in Clare.

Benoit Lorge is originally from Lorraine in France but has been making chocolate in Kenmare, Co Kerry since 2003. If you’ve been to the town you may have sampled his incredible hot chocolate, which is like drinking liquid gold - all other hot chocolates pale in comparison to his masterpiece.

Like everyone, Benoit had to close his retail outlets for long periods over the last 12 months but found people were happy to buy their chocolate online and were keen to support Irish producers.

“Our online sales have improved greatly, and we are working to improve our online presence. Most of our online sales are national and we get a lot of support locally.”

Easter is hugely important for Lorge Chocolates and they are well known for their delicious take on the occasion. “Easter is synonomous with chocolate so it's one of our busiest periods of the year.”

Like Benoit, Kasha Connolly of Hazel Mountain Chocolate in the Burren came to Ireland from somewhere else. She arrived in Dublin in 2007 from Poland and was working in a large multinational when a New Year’s trip to Galway and a walking tour of the Burren led to her meeting her now husband.

She moved west in 2013 and hasn’t looked back. Hazel Mountain Chocolate are now known around the world for their stunning confectionary, interesting flavours, and seasonal products - especially their Easter eggs and their incredible Christmas pudding truffles.

With shops in Bellharbour, Co Clare and Galway City, the pandemic has been difficult, but Kasha says that it has given them a chance to look closely at their business.

“Last year gave us pause in our business so we had time to re-assess what was working, re-focus and find renewed direction. While naturally the pandemic has been difficult for all small businesses, we believe that Hazel Mountain will be stronger and more efficient at the end of it.

"One of our most adventurous projects that we started last year was our food experience space, we were lucky enough to work with Sweden’s top design company Jon Eliason Design Studio. We’re aiming for opening launch date in June.”

The Hazel Mountain Easter eggs usually sell out before the big day and the shops attract big crowds.

This year Kasha, as creative director, has created a chocolate collection for Easter challenging traditional chocolate eggs by giving them a creative twist which has created a huge demand.

“It gets really intense around Easter time and we work around the clock. While the traditional visit to Hazel Mountain shops is now not possible people seem to enjoy shopping and supporting online.

"We get a lot of feedback from customers that are excited to discover chocolate that’s made entirely in Ireland, from cacao bean to chocolate bar. We can’t wait to re-open and be able to show people the whole process of chocolate making again.”

A life pivot of a different kind happened in 2012 when Frank Keane shuttered his well-known Kinsale ceramics gallery. Wondering what to do next, a short course with Benoit Lorge led to him reopening his old gallery premises as an artisan chocolatier with Koko.

Frank makes his delicious range of sweet treats upstairs from the shop and loves to include local ingredients like seaweed in his large range. Frank says that Easter and Christmas are what keeps the business going and a partnership in Cork city led to a good festive season in 2020.

Our online business has really picked up in the last year with 95% of orders going out to Irish homes which is fantastic. Irish people have been amazing in the last year.

"We also had a very successful pop-up in Brown Thomas Cork for the month of December.” Frank's range is unique and environmentally conscious which is a big movement in chocolate this year.

“Each Easter egg is unique in that no one is the same, they’re hand painted here. We really try our best to focus on sustainability therefore we offer a plastic free Easter egg.”

In Wexford sisters Karen and Natalie Keane came to chocolate making from the worlds of retail and HR. They started their company, Bean and Goose with just €400 in 2014.

Like the other brand owners, Karen and Natalie have been really delighted with the support from Irish shoppers this year and really enjoy how close online selling has brought them to their customers in the last year.

“The support from our customers has meant that Bean and Goose has been allowed to grow and our whole team is extremely grateful. We have seen a shift towards online shopping which has suited Bean and Goose.

"We get to engage directly with customers and have complete control over telling our story. That close engagement means that we can get to know and understand what our customer wants from the brand and respond.”

Easter is always a special time for Bean and Goose and Karen and Natalie put in huge effort to create magic through their chocolate.

“We love Easter, it allows us to indulge in storytelling. Every year we create a most handsome and whimsical Irish Hare and a beautiful Bean Goose. These figures represent Spring and the bounce back to life of the Irish countryside. We also get the opportunity to introduce summery flavours to our sharing slabs such as Pecan Praline, Blueberry and Toasted Coconut.

"Products such as our Irish Hare and Bean Goose are much-loved favourites that our customers look forward to buying each year. Each Spring we also commission a different illustrator to tell the story of landscape. We get a new and exciting perspective each year.”

KEEP IT LOCAL

Buying Irish chocolate is fantastic, but if you’d like to go even more local, here is the best chocolate by county:

Cork:

Clare:

Dublin: