Chocolate Overlaod

Philip Lockhart

IMS 4373.001

Professor Maria Hasenhuttl

March 5, 2013

Chocolate Overload

Luxuries have always been what people strive to achieve. However, the current financial situations have taken money away from people that they would typically spend on luxury items. This is true for the most part, but people are still willing to pay for certain luxuries. Chocolate is one of those luxuries. Throughout this essay I will evaluate the strength of the chocolate industry as a whole and evaluate the company Zotter’s position within the industry.

External influences on an industry always need to be taken into consideration when evaluating an industry. There are many external influences that affect a chocolate manufacturer, but this paper will only dive into two of them. The first external influence to evaluate is an influence that affects almost every industry. That is the influence of the economy. Consumers only have limited buying power and that is determined by a number of factors including inflation, unemployment and exchange rates just to name a few. As much as we all love chocolate, it is still a luxury item that we do not need. Further economic crisis could cause the chocolate industry to take a hit if consumers stop purchasing this luxury item. This becomes even more of a problem when you look at premium chocolate makers like Zotter. Customers are losing jobs and buying power worldwide and this is causing them to stop purchasing the more expensive chocolates. Instead, they are now switching over to cheaper chocolate substitutes so that they may aid their wallets. Another external influence on the chocolate industry would be technological influences. Technology is growing at such a rapid rate that it affects almost every industry. In this industry they are facing not only quicker manufacturing processes, but also alternative products. New machinery and thought processes are leading to innovative candy choices that lead people away from...