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Chocolate Makers Have Sweet-Loving Indians In Their Sights
- Country has rich tradition of gifting treats during festivals
- Chocolate consumption still just a 10th of global average
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India has long been known for its love affair with sugar. Sweets play a major role in festivals and family celebrations and delicacies such as gulab jamun -- fried dough balls soaked in syrup -- and barfi -- made with condensed milk -- are popular gifts. Not only is the country the world’s biggest consumer of sugar, it’s also one of the top producers.
That penchant for sweet confections together with a massive, youthful and increasingly affluent population has chocolate-makers around the world sitting up and taking notice. Indians currently eat only about a 10th as much chocolate confectionery as the global average and the International Cocoa Organization recently described the country as the No. 1 potential market of the future.