While not as popular as salty spreads like Vegemite and peanut butter, or as widely consumed as honey, jam or other conserves, chocolate/hazelnut spreads have a definite cult following among certain sectors of the population. In recognition of World Nutella Day (February 5), Roy Morgan research has delved into their archives to discover which Australians are most likely to go nuts for Nutella, and other choc/hazelnut spreads.
In an average seven days, 6.4 per cent of Australians 14+ (or just over 1.2 million people), eat Nutella or a similar brand of choc/hazelnut spread.
Admittedly, this pales in comparison to Vegemite, Marmite and Promite (consumed by 40.2 per cent of the population in the same time period), jam/ conserves /marmalade (31.5 per cent), peanut butter (30.0 per cent) and honey (29.4 per cent), but unlike most of these old favourites, which tend to be most popular with the 50-plus age group, choc/hazelnut spread is a hit with a more youthful demographic.
Teenage girls aged 14-17 are the most avid consumers, being almost three times more likely than the average Australian to eat choc/hazelnut spread in any given seven days (18.6 per cent). Their male counterparts are close behind (17.5 per cent), as are young women aged 18-24 (16.0 per cent) — after which the consumption rate drops off quite steeply, bottoming out among older Aussies.
Age is not the only factor influencing a person’s taste for choc/hazelnut spread: their ethnic background also appears to have some relevance.
While a modest 6.0 per cent of Australian-born Aussies eat it in an average seven days, the consumption rate jumps among those born in Asian countries such as the Philippines (24.4 per cent), China (10.5 per cent) and Malaysia (9.5 per cent). What’s more, 17.2 per cent of Australians born in the Middle East and 14.0 per cent of US-born Aussies enjoy choc/hazelnut spread.
In stark contrast, consumption of these spreads is almost negligible among Aussies born in New Zealand (3.5 per cent) and India (3.4 per cent).
Andrew Price, GM- consumer products, Roy Morgan Research, says that targeting consumers from different ethnic backgrounds could be an effective way of growing the condiment’s market share.
