Earlier this year, I blogged on how it is custom for a woman in Japan to give chocolate to a man for Valentine’s Day. Although other parts of the world consume more chocolate than Asian countries, there is a strong and steady rise of chocolate consumption in Asia. The foreign presence of the global chocolate manufacturers in Asia proves that chocolates belong in Asia, and can be mixed with traditional Asian ingredients.
Global chocolate companies such as Callebaut, Mars, Ferrero, Hershey’s and Nestle are all banking on Asia to increase their global market share. Truth be told, all of the Asian countries chocolate consumption are all under the global average. The Chinese consume less than 50 grams per year, Japan and South Koreans consume about 1.4 kilograms per year as compared to the Swiss who rank the highest in chocolate comsumption at 10 kilograms per year.
The Nestle owned Kit Kat has invested in creating chocolate bars specifically for the Japanese market. These either still exist, were limited editions, or are only available in a particular region of Japan. I counted 20 different kit kat flavored bars for the Japanese market (according to the ones listed in wikipedia). These country specific flavors include: green tea, kiwi, cantaloupe, mango, apple, sakura (cherry blossom) and the more daring kinako (soybean flour), wa guri (chestnut) and azuki (red bean).
The initial rise of the Kit Kat may be attributed to the translation of the name in Japanese, “kittu katsu” or ‘I hope you win”. School aged children began buying the bars and using these as a good luck charm during school exams.
Hershey’s is also targeting the Chinese market with their green tea flavored kisses. They have plans to be 
the second largest chocolate seller in China by 2010. They have teamed up with South Korean owned, Lotte Confectionery Co. Ltd, and have an manufacturing facility in Jinshan, near Shanghai. This $80 million project will allow Hershey’s to market and distribute products in such countries as China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and the Philippines.
Critics argue that the growth of these foreign based chocolate and confectionery companies will be a major blow to the smaller Chinese based chocolate companies whose manufacturing is less than 50 years old. China’s manufacturers are behind in manufacturing technology and techniques resulting in a lower quality product. Inevitably, the presence of the foreign companies will force the China based companies to raise their standards as well or fold altogether.
What was once a treat primarily for Westerners is now being embraced by Eastern countries. Food as a tendency to bring people together, and chocolate is definately one of those foods.
