President of the Association of Valencia Community Nougat, Derivatives and Chocolate Producers, Jose Manuel SirventThe eleventh generation of the family business he heads – El Lobo, or the current Confectionery Holding, owned in 1880, with nearly 300 years of experience – already gives an insight into the centuries-old tradition of the nougat industry in Jijona.
Although there are traces that such sweets were already consumed in ancient Mesopotamia, tradition indicates that the Arabs introduced it to the Iberian Peninsula, and in its current formulation there is evidence of the existence of workshops in this Alicante town since the sixteenth century. century.
Since then, nougat production has dominated the life of this municipality and has taken shape in the region, with the chocolate industry beginning to develop in the neighboring town of La Vila Joiosa and where nougat producers diversify their activities. one of the largest sugar production clusters in the country. An industry as a whole to be billed this year billion euros in the Community of Valenciaon their own account sirventand that comes to engage more than 6,000 people throughout the year.
Of course, a business that has not escaped from the economic situation despite centuries past and has to increase its prices between 5% and 10% this year due to the increase in general costs, about 60% increase in sugarAccording to the businessman, 20% in honey and 15% in almonds.
The nougat industry, which has a centuries-old tradition, is also marked by prices and temperatures this year.
As if this weren’t enough, the weather conditions weren’t enough and the heat that continued until November in most of the Peninsula caused the nougat campaign to start with a decrease of about 15% in sales. Sales that the industry hopes to pick up in the middle weeks of the holidays. In this way, the predictions of the general secretary of the Nougat Organizing Committee, Federico MoncunillIt reached 71 million bar, indicating a slight 5% increase in production.
In any case, the change in weather is putting more pressure on an industry that includes the state, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of its turnover in just a month and a half to gamble. Alicante accounts for around 60% of national productionFar away from other regions like Catalonia or Toledo.
Despite the volumes it manages, one of the surprising things is that all the nougat companies in the Jijona region continue to be in the hands of the founding families, as highlighted by Jose Manuel Sirvent, but there has been a certain concentration in recent years that has led to the emergence of larger firms. A compelling growth, in part due to the explosion of private label, which currently accounts for around 60% of the market, and the need to gain bargaining power with major distribution companies.
However, there are also companies that continue to bet on their own brands, in this case El Lobo and 1880, such as the aforementioned Confectionary Holding, and even decide to set up a chain of stores to improve their image, as described by. company CEO, Ruben Lopez.
One of the big challenges attract new generationsWho are the new flavors for? “Young people often start eating with chocolate nougat and pralines and then move on to traditional flavors,” she explains. Lopez. In addition, the company strives to adapt to other trends demanded by this segment of the population, such as sustainability, with packaging made from recycled materials or ingredients such as brown whole cane sugar.
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The whole industry agrees that chocolate production gains importance in the business line of companies in the sector whose turnover is already much higher than nougat. To give an idea, 13.5 million kilos of this dessert is produced annually in the region, and it is already produced. 31 million kilos of cocoa.
Thanks to the existence of an important chocolate tradition in the neighboring town of La Vila Joiosa, an expansion was also made possible, led by Chocolates Valor, which provided the necessary know-how. It’s a business that Christmas also craves, as up to 60% of its chocolate sales are concentrated during this period and, for example, nearly a quarter of all hot chocolate consumed throughout the year is with Twelfth Night. as the main milestone, as reminded by the CEO of the firm, Pedro Lopez.