What Consumers Told Us About Their Relationship with Chocolate
Latest Survey Results:
1. Chocolate is America's favorite flavor for desserts and sweet snacks:
- Chocolate was chosen by 50 percent of men and women as their favorite flavor
- Strawberry/berry flavors ranked second, chosen by 13 percent of consumers
- Vanilla, ranked third, chosen by10 percent
- Lemon/lime, Caramel, Pistachio/Nut, Cherry, Apple (2 percent each)
- Mint, Banana, Peach, Coffee and Butterscotch (1 percent each)
- (7 percent said "other", 5 percent didn't know)
(Chocolate Manufacturers Association survey of 1038 adults, August, 2003)
2. Consumers prefer milk chocolate over dark chocolate.
- Milk chocolate is the favorite of 65 percent of men and women
- Dark chocolate is preferred by 27 percent of men and women
- (Remaining respondents didn't know/didn't respond)
(Chocolate Manufacturers Association survey of 1038 adults, August, 2003)
3. Consumers asked to describe their spouse/significant other in terms of chocolate chose "Hot Chocolate" as their top choice:
- Top answer: "Hot chocolate," (22 percent)
- Second: "Plain, solid chocolate," (20 percent)
- Third: "Chocolate-covered nut," (16 percent)
- Fourth: Chilly as chocolate ice cream," (11 percent)
- Fifth: "Bittersweet chocolate" (9 percent)
- Men were more likely to describe their gals as "hot chocolate" while women were more likely to say their guys are "chocolate-covered nuts."
- (15 percent of respondents did not have a spouse/significant other and the others didn't know/didn't respond)
(Chocolate Manufacturers Association survey of 1038 adults, August, 2003)
4. "Anything chocolate" was chosen by most consumers asked to name their favorite chocolate dessert.
- Top answer: Anything chocolate, (19 percent), with women making this sweeping chocolate selection more than men by almost a 2-to-1 margin (24 percent of women vs. 13 percent of men)
- Second: Chocolate ice cream, (13 percent)
- Third: A tie between brownies and chocolate chip cookies, (12 percent each)
- Fourth: Chocolate cake, (11 percent)
- Fifth: Chocolate mousse, (8 percent)
- Sixth: Chocolate cream pie, (7 percent)
- Seventh: Chocolate pudding, (5 percent)
- Eighth: A tie between a chocolate bar and chocolate fondue, (2 percent)
- Ninth: Selection from a box of chocolates, (1 percent)
- (8 percent didn't know/didn't respond)
(Chocolate Manufacturers Association survey of 1038 adults, August, 2003)
5. Asked whom they would most like to dip in chocolate to make the person sweeter, men were more likely than women to choose their spouse/significant other:
- Top response: 38 percent of men and women said they would dip their spouse/significant other to make him/her sweeter. But 43 percent of the men would dip their partners while only 33 percent of women would do so.
- Second place tie: Dipping a neighbor and dipping the boss in chocolate, (16 percent each)
- Third: Dipping one's mother-in-law, (11 percent)
- The rest would dip someone else or were undecided
(Chocolate Manufacturers Association survey of 1038 adults, August, 2003)
6. Do consumers know that certain types of cocoa powder and chocolate contain healthful antioxidant compounds that may help prevent heart disease? About half of them do...
- Nearly half of consumers (48 percent) were aware of this fact
- 32 percent did not think chocolate contains healthful antioxidant compounds and 20 percent didn't know whether or not it did.
(Chocolate Manufacturers Association survey of 1038 adults, August, 2003)
7. Consumers picked their favorite and least favorite selections from a box of chocolates. They told us:
- Favorites: A tie between chocolate-covered caramels and chocolate-covered nuts, (21 percent for each)
- Second Favorite: Chocolate-covered cherry, (11 percent)
- Third Favorite: Solid piece of chocolate, (9 percent)
- Fourth: Truffle, (7 percent)
- Fifth: Coconut Center, (6 percent)
- Sixth: Chocolate-covered toffee, (5 percent)
- Seventh: Chocolate-covered raisins, (4 percent)
- Eighth: Tie between chocolate cream and vanilla cream centers, (3 percent each)
- Last: Chocolates with jelly centers, (1 percent)
- (Rest didn't know/didn't respond)
(Chocolate Manufacturers Association survey of 1038 adults, August, 2003)
8. Consumers eat chocolate most often as a "special treat" or simply because "nothing tastes as good as chocolate"...
- Most say: It's a special treat, (69 percent)
- Second: Nothing tastes as good, (46 percent)
- Third: Because it is there, (38 percent)
- Fourth: To satisfy hunger, (31 percent)
- Fifth: As a pick-me-up/energy boost, (24 percent)
(Chocolate Manufacturers Association survey of 1038 adults, August, 2003)
