Going the Distance: China’s 10K Chocolate Race 213
empire and maintain a sustainable and profitable chocolate
business in the future. Some executives within the chocolate
industry are now forecasting an industry shakeout, with con-
solidation around Mars and the more committed Big Five
players, as well as determined exporters to China. But acquisi-
tions don’t always deliver as promised or expected, and mak-
ing accurate predictions about China’s rapidly changing
consumer market has historically been difficult. It would
therefore be premature to begin writing the epitaph of Mars’s
competitors just yet.
The Threat from Local Competitors
During the first twenty-five years of China’s chocolate war,
though plagued by the bane of copycats, the Big Five reigned ...