Sweet Temptation

We are living in times of recession and we all try to make do with the reduced resources we now have. In Germany the government worked hard and made many an effort to not hand down to the voters the full consequences of the global economic depression. At least until the upcoming elections of the Federal German Parliament on September 27, that is, as the government would be blamed for such unpleasant changes in the peoples' wallets and would lose many voters to the opposing parties.

Yet the recession is not a secret and the ordinary people are to take better care of the little they have. But who would not grow weak when it comes to chocolates, pralines, sweets and candies, chocolate bars and choco-temptations? In fact it is in the times of recession that customers make a grab, as for the sweet branch is true: When people feel down the business is up.

Increase of unemployment, budget deficits, record-high indebtedness, bitter times exactly. But chocoholics know it all along: Cacao is the recession's drug. Stefan Richter, the owner of the Berliner Kaffeerösterei, a shop for coffee and chocolate specialties, says in an interview with Katrin Lindner: "We rather sense an increasing demand for exactly chocolate products from our chocolaterie, from our self produced pralines and chocolate bars. I am in fact amazed, that - in the middle of summer, while the heat is on, and while we usually have a decrease of demand - we suddenly are having an increasing turnover."

How do the customers behave? What do they buy, what not? Who are the winners in times of recession? And it is not only the sweets where man and woman seem incapable of refusing. Most refrain from spending "big money" like on real estate or vehicles, others spend less on cloths and everyday needs, they travel less, withdraw from some service supplies. But a bit of luxury must still be part of their lives, little luxury they just do not want to abstain from.

So among the trends is what is called "cocooning," the snuggling up inside one's place, the getting cosy at home. The winners of this trend are the companies producing tools and appliances for the household. Coffee machines, ice crackers, mixers, equipment for ambience, tools that in general please and ease life in our homes. Marion Eisenblätter of the Society for Consumer Research says: "Currently there is a tendency of buying electrical equipment, which goes to tools with high ecologic and energy saving criteria, which however finally also go with a money saving effect."

Further there is a disliking to forego with jewellery. Some men and some women prefer to put their savings into jewellery rather than to trust banks in these unsafe times. As for actual use it is the really low budget jewellery that is the sales hit. Marion Eisenblätter says: "Of course the consumer tries to cut down expenses for every day necessities. But on the other hand the little of luxury is wanted as a reward for their frugality. That portion of luxury that on principle one allows oneself."

Such luxury also is the praline from France. Instead of the usual one delivery every fortnight it is currently two orders a week that are shipped. For some, those are the sweet temptations for this year.