In an increasingly waistline-conscious world, inhabitants of the GCC still choose sugar over slender. Regional consumption of sweets is booming as confectioners keep watch of regional trends. In a late 2007 study TNS, an international market research group, found the demand for chocolate in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to be high, with 99% of Saudis and 98% of UAE nationals confessing to chocolate consumption at least one time within a seven-day period. In a recent Gulf News article Helena Shpakovich, sales and marketing executive at Moka General Trading, a UAE chocolate distribution company, said, “The market for confectionaries in the region is booming and becoming more aggressive. Manufacturers from all over the world feel the potential of UAE’s market, as it is still easy to enter.” Chocolatiers will be happy to know that Middle East consumers spend $4.2 billion a year on chocolate. Growth in the sweets sector of
