Chocolate sales down by NOK 400 million
The chocolate sales fell sharply for Freia owner Mondelez last year. This year also brings an extra bill of NOK 370 million after the increase in the tax on sugar.
Mondelez Norway had a turnover of NOK 2.1 billion last year, about 90 million less than the year before, according to Finansavisen.
The company owns Freia, as well as a number of well-known brands such as Daim, the iconic Kvikklunsj (Quick Lunch), Non Stop and Oreo biscuits.
Revenues from chocolate sales were reduced from NOK 1.82 billion in 2016 to 1.4 billion last year, according to Finansavisen.
– In the case of chocolate sales in 2017, the development is partly due to the removal of parts of our portfolio, as well as fluctuations in connection with campaigns. We are however experiencing a good development on other parts of our snack portfolio, especially in biscuits, writes CEO of Mondelez Norway, Gro Krigsvoll, in an email to the newspaper.
Near doubling of the fee’s secured by the opposition
From January 1st this year, the fee’s on chocolate and sugar products increased by more than 80 per cent.
– This provided Mondelez Norway with a very short time frame to implement a fee increase of NOK 370 million a year, according to the annual stock exchange statement.
– We are experiencing a partial decline in the volume of our most price-sensitive products this year. With increased prices due to fees, a regular chocolate bar now costs twice as much in Norway compared to Sweden. Increases in border trade and online sales therefore pose a major challenge for us and our products, writes Krigsvoll.
She states that the company has not made its own estimates of lost income due to the sugar tax.
© Finansavisen / #Norway Today
