Innovation is the order of the day, and this Christmas it also achieved nougat. Yeah Dabiz Muñoz has been a pioneer in the creation of unconventional flavours, the Spanish confectionery industry has joined in the search for surprises this Christmas. Various tastes and textures, etc.ham, strawberry Chupa Chups with cream, umami cocoa, caramelized cookies or chocolate with popcorn Here are some of the flavors that will be on sale.

Industry employer Produlce explained Efeagro What consumer tastes and preferences Christmas sweets such as nougat or marzipan vary, and although preferences for “regular” tastes and formatstrend is perceived or the pleasure of experimentation.

Hence the commitment to the industry explore new textures, flavors or ingredient combinations- noted the association.

According to the Produlce report, nougat and marzipan include updated designs and “radical innovation.” -the most transgressive – in 60% of new candy releases, typical for the Christmas period.

This year they are attracting attention umami cocoa nougat from Virginia, with a mixture of ingredients, from cocoa pulp cream to hazelnut praline, chocolate with criollo cocoa and toasted cocoa nibs.

They also emphasize Caramelized Delaviuda cookies with nougatpromising a creamy and light texture, or Lacasa’s chocolate nougat with popcorn, which combines sweet and salty flavors and a “crisp” effect.

He Nougat with ham Torrons Vicensmade with toasted almond praline and ham with chopped almonds, look for break the mold with your originality; same as Strawberry Cream Nougat Chupa Chups, made with almond praline, cream and strawberries with crunchy Chupa Chups and coated in white chocolate and ruby ​​chocolate.

In any case, Produlce guarantees that the most traditional range of products such as almond and honey nougat, toasted yolk nougat, hard nougat or almond marzipan will still be in everyone’s shopping baskets this Christmas.

“We are faced with clearly a traditional product who also knows how to show its most updated and avant-garde side, thanks to our companies’ commitment to innovation, quality, alliances with gastronomy, etc.,” Produlce sources said.

Expenditure per capita

Based on consumption data in 2022, per capita expenditure on nougat and marzipan amounted to 5.59 euros. This category accounted for 4.8% of the total global turnover of the Spanish sweets industry in 2022, which amounted to 6.757 million euros.

In detail, the turnover of this category in 2022 reached 325.5 million euros, up 4% on 2021, although with a drop in volumes of 8.4%.

The Employers’ Association this year said it expected ” balanced growth”, both in terms of volume and billing, somewhere around 3-4%.

If we consider only the base of Christmas sweets, then nougat and marzipan are the most popular. excellent main characters in terms of value (86.9%), although in the distribution of volumes the group “other specialties” rises and reaches 20.7% of the total.

Spanish Christmas sweets abroad

Although domestic consumption accounts for the majority of this category (80% of the total), Produlce emphasizes that Spanish products now have an international reach.

At the same time, he recalled that in 2022 accounting for foreign sales of nougat and marzipan set another new record, achieving a trade balance of 67 million euros, making the category the third net contributor to the sweets sector in this section.

Exports of Spanish nougat and marzipan last year rose by 2.9% to the UK and to 28.5% to the US, the world’s largest country. two main directionsand Poland took third place and doubled its consumption of these Spanish brands.

Produlce wanted to emphasize contribution to employment in this categorywhich increased by 10% in 2022, making it the largest relative source of employment in the entire sector for the second year in a row.