The UAE sugar confectionery market is expected to register a CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period (2020-2025).

  • Sugar confectionery is regarded as a child-targeted product, which limits its consumer base, compared to chocolate. Attractive packaging, a new product introduction in a convenient format, is the growing trend in sugar confectionery sales.
  • High sugar content related to obesity is a severe concern among consumers. Consumers are looking for healthier options, such as low calorie, high cocoa, and functional ingredient-based confectionery. The functional claim of confectionery product labels is increasing rapidly.



Key Market Trends

Increasing Demand for Healthy Confectioneries

Healthier snacking, along with convenience and taste, is the rising trend among consumers, which is a major strategy adopted by the companies due to the increasing demand for healthy snacks. Thus, confectionery companies are introducing convenient packaging that lets consumers eat in small portions and preserve the rest for later. Also, snack bars are commonly perceived as a healthier alternative to chocolate or confectionery, due to their product variation, in terms of different nutrition, such as proteins.

Supermarket/hypermarket drives sugar confectionery sales in the UAE

Supermarket/hypermarket holds a prominent share in the distribution channel sales. Expanding supermarket/hypermarkets in the region drives the impulse buying behavior of consumers offering discounts and multiple varieties. About 86% of the population lives in urban cities, which drives retail sales. However, imposing VAT in early 2018 slowed down the retail sales and consumer purchasing behavior. E-commerce sales of sugar confectionery registered xx% growth rate in the past five years, which possesses tough competition to supermarkets and convenience stores sales.

Competitive Landscape

The UAE sugar confectionery market is competitive, with many foreign players occupying major share. Perfetti Van Melle remains the dominant player in the sugar confectionery market, which is followed by Storck KG, Haribo Middle East FZE, and Nestl? SA, among others. Innovative product launch focused on health and wellness is the major strategy adopted by these players.

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