It’s the age of voting with your wallets – so even the chocolate you add on top of that supermarket cart is a pretty good indicator of the causes you believe in. A new free report says that the fair-trade movement is rapidly coming into its own in the chocolate industry. Consumers are choosing to buy from brands that ensure cocoa farmers in Africa and Latin America get a fair price for their produce. Forget all you knew about chocolate being an indulgence and dangerous to diet plans, the voice-of-the-consumer is also proclaiming that it’s definitely interested in chocolate that has health benefits.

But consumer opinion isn’t the only trend making its presence felt in the chocolate world. Manufacturers are also expanding their business interests by tapping into emerging markets. Chocolatiers are reportedly beating the path down to China, and India to try and get these vast populations to develop a taste for their delicious concoctions.

Both China and India have a well-established sweet tooth, but mostly for traditional local sweets. Leading chocolatiers are hoping to change all that with tailormade chocolate lines. Hershey’s for instance has been consolidating it’s presence in the region and are tying up with local companies to try and get these vast populations to eat more chocolate than they do!

It’s clear that both these regions are potential markets. Urban India currently has an average annual per capita consumption of a modest 165 grams, and Chinese respondents consumed less than 50 grams of chocolate per person. Contrast those statistics with Europe where the average annual per capita chocolate consumption is frequently cited as being around 8 kilograms.

Further Reading: Chocolate Challenges - Emerging Markets and Fair Trade Opportunities for Manufacturers.