Pinoys’ sugar rush driving confectionery, ice cream sales

MANILA, Philippines — It is not just a sweet tooth for Air Aguinaldo, it is a whole lot of palate.

In between editing articles for a student publication and writing literary works, Air finds comfort in sugar.

Name it: cotton candies, gummy bears, chocolate bars, madeleines. Oh, not to mention, a plate of her aunt’s baklava that has been crisped to perfection, oozing with... syrup.

She can even eat three packs of cotton candies in one sitting.

Air is wary that excessive sugar consumption could be bad. But for the 20-year-old creative writing student, eating sweets is part and parcel of her creative process.

“Aside from satisfying my cravings, eating sweets is also one way to relieve my stress,” she said.

“I am not picky with food, although I do have the visual appetite of a child, so I easily get attracted to vibrant looking desserts,” she added.

Air spends between P200 and P500 a week for sweets. She spends more during examination days.

Once, she went back-and-forth to a convenience store for a sugar rush. She bought a chocolate bar. Next, a pack of worm-shaped gummies. And then some mango cream-filled marshmallows.

Next thing she knew, it was a sugar crash instead of a sugar rush. “I just lost my energy after eating all the sweets,” she quipped.

But Air and other Filipinos’ liking for sweets – may it be chocolates, candies or even ice cream – is driving industry sales to grow by eight percent annually to $1.8 billion by 2028, an international agency projects.

The United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDA-FAS Manila) estimates that the country’s confectionery and ice cream market would expand by half to $1.8 billion by 2028 from $1.2 billion last year.

The foreseen growth is fueled by Filipinos’ “fondness for food indulgences, rising disposable incomes and increasing urbanization,” according to the agency’s latest Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.

The report noted that the projected compound annual growth rate for the Philippine market would surpass Asia Pacific’s five percent growth during the five-year period.

“Filipinos, particularly those in the upper and upper-middle income brackets, enjoy indulging in imported confectionery and ice cream, not only as after-meal treats but also as popular gift choices,” the report read.

“Though price matters, they prioritize quality and unique flavors, and are willing to pay more for established brands and innovative offerings,” it added.

The report noted that chocolate confectionery dominated the local market with a share of 38 percent of the total sales followed by ice cream (34 percent), sugar confectionery (25 percent) and gum (three percent).

Local processors like Universal Robina Corp. have captured two-thirds of the market share for both the chocolate and sugar confectionery segments, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Mondelez and Delfi Foods are the leading competitors in the chocolate market while Columbia holds a “strong position” in the sugar confectionery segment.

Mars Wrigley and Columbia lead the gum market while Unilever-RFM, Froneri and San Miguel Foods are the leading players in the ice cream market, the USDA-FAS Manila said.

The report estimated that the country’s imported confectionery and ice cream market reached $390 million last year, with sugar confectionery accounting for almost half of the value.

Ice cream accounted for 27 percent, chocolate confectionery (23 percent) and gum (one percent).

Some of the leading foreign brands in the Philippine market are Trolli, Kopiko, SKittles, Tootsie Roll and Wonka for sugar confectionery while Aice, Joyice, Binggrae, Baskin and Robbins and Keto for ice cream, according to the report.

The top imported brands for chocolate confectionery were Goya, Hershey’s, Daim, Ferrero, Reese’s and Ghirardelli, the report added.