Changes in Consumption Patterns of Meat and Confectioneries in India

This paper discusses the changes in consumption patterns of meat and confectioneries in India over the last 20 years. It explores the reasons behind these changes and the impact of urbanization, religious factors, and affordability on meat and confectionery consumption. The study also highlights the growing market for chocolates and candies among adults in India.

Running head: GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
Global Food System
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
With the change in time, human beings undergo several changes in every aspect of
their life, be it in their social life, behaviours, attitudes or food habits. People have become
more health and sustainability conscious than ever before. The growth in the rate of education
and knowledge among people throughout the world has led to this transformation. However,
it is also to note that the digitisation of the social and economic life in Asian countries,
specifically in India, has promised to bring in significant changes to the patterns of
consumption. This paper is going to elaborate on discussing India, investigating the changes
in the rate of use over the last twenty years for two different food products or categories. The
chosen food categories are meat and confectioneries. It would also provide the reasons for
those changes.
Feeding the entire populations of India is a challenge, which has long been captivated
the interest of global researchers and thinkers all around the world. As per the year 2010, the
total population of India reached about 1.19 billion (Naik & Bobade, 2016). It accounted for
the then 1/5th of the total global population. It is therefore expected that such figures would
continue to reach and exceed 3 billion by the year 2050. However, the eating habits of the
Indians have undergone some notable changes in the last 20 years. As per the recent statistics,
India is consuming more on the whole, and at the same time, the Indians are living longer
than ever before. It is to note that the consumption of meat is gradually increasing in India.
Majority of the chickens that are consumed in India are pig, mutton, goat, bovine, fish and
poultry. Very recently, the consumption of beef has also been seen among many Indians as
per the recent reports by Guilmoto and Oliveau (2018). It is also to mention in this context
that in India, the consumption of meat is determined by the religions. For example, beef is
prohibited among the Hindus and pork is forbidden among the Muslims
(Khara & Ruby, 2019). With the same, the preference and the consumption of the meat of
chicken can be regarded as something universal as chicken meat is widely accepted by the

2GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
consumers in India more than any other meat source. However, it is also to mention that
despite all the changes and notwithstanding the fast-growing population of the nation and its
economy, India is still considered to be one of the most vegetarian countries in the world.
Item Rural Urban All
Quantity
(Kg)
Value
(Rs)
Volume
(Kg)
Amount
(Rs)
Quantity
(Kg)
Amount
(Rs)
Goat meat or
Mutton
0.047 4.31 0.070 7.85 0.053 5.21
Buffalo and beef
meat
0.031 1.34 0.056 2.26 0.037 1.57
Pork 0.006 0.40 0.005 2.26 0.037 1.57
Chicken 0.050 .014 0.085 5.49 0.059 3.73
Other Meats 0.003 0.11 0.002 0.06 0.003 0.10
Total meat 0.137 9.30 0.218 15.95 0.158 10.98
Table 1: Per capita consumption of beef in the year 2002 (Islam et al., 2016)
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Per Capita in
Kg
1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.2
In Kilotons 2645.9 2889.6 3062.1 3154.7 3246.8
Table 2: Rate of consumption of meat in the year 2010-2014 (Joy et al., 2017)
As per Khan, Nomani and Salman (2016), it is due to urbanisation that there is such a
significant rise in the demand for the meat products in India, which is considered to be the
second largest beef exporter in the world. About 95% of the goat meat in India is produced
locally. In particular, the consumption of beef is determined by the religions where the pork

3GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
is not allowed or forbidden for the Muslims and beef for the Hindus. Furthermore, it is to
note that the reason behind the increase in consumption of the chicken meat among the
Indians is due to the versatility of the flesh. It is of comparatively lower cost as compared to
the other meat, and also it is widely accepted in every religion in India. With the same, one of
the significant reasons behind this increase in meat consumption among the Indians is the
considerable rise in the production of livestock products, which is expected to increase more
shortly. However, according to what is claimed by Joy et al. (2017), the pattern of meat
consumption among the consumers in India depend on their tradition, culture and the rate of
urbanisation.
The second food category that has experienced a significant change in its rate of
consumption among the Indians in the past 20 years is that of confectionaries. It is to note
that India is considered to be the fastest growing market for the adult consumption of candies
and chocolates as per the study conducted by Chawla and Sondhi (2016). The companies like
Nestle, Parle, Mars, Perfetti Van Melle and Mondelez are continuously launching their new
products and brands that target the adult market in India. According to Beg et al. (2017), the
new ways of positioning these brands have put this category into one of the highest
consumption modes, with per capita rate of consumption going from 40 grams in 2005 to 120
grams in the year 2013. The urban consumers in India buy confectionaries and chocolates for
their everyday consumption. Just eight to nine years ago, the Indians used to purchase
confectioneries mostly during their festive seasons. However, today, most of the Indian
consumers are replacing their traditional sweets with the chocolates. Today, most of the
Indians prefer consuming chocolates over their "chaat and tikkis” (local food item in India).
There is a substantial change in the pattern of snack consumption as per the leading chocolate
making company named Mars. According to Chattopadhyay (2018), “Chocolates are now
considered a fun-to-eat snack rather than occasional luxuries and an important item in

4GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
consumers' grocery baskets”. According to the study conducted by Beg et al. (2017), the
overall market of confectioneries in India is growing about 15% every year, and at the same
time, the growth and development in the modern retail in India are almost double of the same.
The current chocolate consumption of India still trails that of the Western nations,
particularly the United States that devoured about 1.3 million tonnes of the excellent stud in
the year 2016.
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Compounded
growth rate
35% 42% 47% 48.9% 51%
In Kilotons 22500 33240 37754 39004 43580
Table 3: Rate of consumption of chocolates in the year 2000-2004 (Dorni et al., 2018)
According to Clarence-Smith (2016), this growing consumption of confectioneries
among the Indians is due to the high quality promotions and branding. He claimed that
Cadbury India has long been a leading player who drove the consumption of chocolates
among the adults with the campaigns like “Khan eke bad Kuch meetha ho Jaye” and “shubh
arambh” for its several brands like Gems, Five Stars, dairy milk and Perk. One of the other
reason behind this increase in consumption and change in consuming pattern of confectioners
is the fact that Indians today believe that eating chocolates is healthy. Within 2011 to 2016,
the total use of chocolates among the Indians reached 228 thousand tonnes from 152
thousand tonnes as per the research of Orisakwe, Igweze and Udowelle (2019). Indians love
things that are sweet and sugary, and as per the study, every two in five Indians believe than
sugary and delicious snacks like cakes and chocolates are healthy, and every one in three
people look towards these types of meals as a great source of energy. With the same, it is also
to note that the popularity of confectioneries and chocolates among Indians is also due to
their affordability.

5GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
Hence, from the above analysis, it is clear that the consumption patterns of Indians
have undergone some notable changes in terms of meat and confectioneries consumption
over the last 20 years. However, despite the differences and the fast-growing economy and
population of it, India is still one of the most vegetarian nations in the world. The main
reason behind its increase in meat consumption is urbanisation, religious causes and the
versatility of meat. Also, the youths of India have the tendencies to try new foods than ever
before. With the same, urbanisation. Health consciousness and affordability are the primary
cause of change and an increase in the consumption level of confectioneries among the
Indians today.

6GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
References:
Beg, M. S., Ahmad, S., Jan, K., & Bashir, K. (2017). Status, supply chain and processing of
cocoa-A review. Trends in food science & technology, 66, 108-116.
Chattopadhyay, P. (2018). 15 Shifting food production and consumption patterns in
globalised India. Globalisation, Environment and Social Justice: Perspectives, Issues
and Concerns, 108.
Chawla, D., & Sondhi, N. (2016). Attitude and consumption patterns of the Indian chocolate
consumer: An exploratory study. Global Business Review, 17(6), 1412-1426.
Clarence-Smith, W. (2016). Chocolate consumption from the sixteenth century to the great
chocolate boom. M. Squicciarini, y J. Swinnen (Edits.), The Economics of Chocolate,
43-70.
Dorni, C., Sharma, P., Saikia, G., & Longvah, T. (2018). Fatty acid profile of edible oils and
fats consumed in India. Food chemistry, 238, 9-15.
Guilmoto, C., & Oliveau, S. (2018). Population distribution. Routledge Handbook of Asian
Demography, Routledge, London and New York, 268-284.
Islam, M. M., Anjum, S., Modi, R. J., & Wadhwani, K. N. (2016). Scenario of livestock and
poultry in india and their contribution to national economy. International Journal of
Science, Environment and Technology, 5(3), 956-65.
Joy, E. J., Green, R., Agrawal, S., Aleksandrowicz, L., Bowen, L., Kinra, S., ... & Dangour,
A. D. (2017). Dietary patterns and non-communicable disease risk in Indian adults:
secondary analysis of Indian Migration Study data. Public health nutrition, 20(11),
1963-1972.

7GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
Khan, M., Nomani, A., & Salman, M. (2016). Impact of Beef Ban on Economy and Meat
Processing Industry of India: A Complete Value Chain Analysis. Management
Studies and Economic Systems, 54(4144), 1-10.
Khara, T., & Ruby, M. (2019). Meat Eating and the Transition from Plant-Based Diets among
Urban Indians. M/C Journal, 22(2).
Naik, K., & Bobade, A. (2016, September). YOUTH IN INDIA: DEMOGRAPHIC
DIVIDEND OR DEMOGRAPHIC DISASTER. In 9th Annual Conference of the
EuroMed Academy of Business.
Orisakwe, O. E., Igweze, Z. N., & Udowelle, N. A. (2019). Candy consumption may add to
the body burden of lead and cadmium of children in Nigeria. Environmental Science
and Pollution Research, 26(2), 1921-1931.