Portuguese chocolate producer Imperial has reported an annual drop in demand of more than 50% for its Easter products, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company, which produces a number of well-known chocolate brands, including Jubileu, Regina, Pintarolas and Pantagruel is now trying to adapt to the new reality during one of the most important periods of the year in terms of turnover.
Downward Trend
Although she hopes that families “will maintain the tradition of consuming traditional chocolate products at Easter", CEO Manuela Tavares de Souza told Lusa that she does not expect the downward sales trend to change this week, also anticipating losses in exports.
"We have already had foreign orders postponed to markets such as the UK or France, a trend that should increase in April and May. All this will force us to adapt our strategy," she added.
Tavares de Souza acknowledged that chocolates are not among 'essential' food products during this time, and admitted the possibility that production could be reduced although there would be no lay-offs of staff.
Raw Materials
On the positive side, there have not been difficulties in sourcing raw materials and other goods needed for production, such as cocoa from Ghana or the Ivory Coast.
Suppliers of packing materials also continue to operate as well as the entire transport and logistics chain.
Even so, the CEO of Imperial admits that the future "is uncertain", predicting that the months of April and May will "see some contraction". The advantage for the agro-food sector, according to her, is that the large-scale retail trade remains open to the public.
Imperial achieved a turnover of €33 million in 2019 and was targeting €35 million this year, with exports accounting for 25% of total production.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
