Dulce de leche: potential market
In October, the dulce de leche became a local cultural heritage in specific regions of Brazil, with emphasis on Minas Gerais, which is the state with the largest production of the delicacy. In 2016, Minas Gerais managed to export a value of US$106,000 in dulce de leche alone, according to data from exportaminas. The dulce de leche market represents 0.6% of dairy production, but it has great potential for development.
This product has been gaining more and more space in the national gastronomic scenario, another factor that contributes to its expansion is that, depending on the region where it is manufactured, it has its own characteristics and great variation and customization for all tastes. The dulce de leche market is basically formed by two types of buyers: the final consumer and the institutional one formed by the food service and the food industry. The institutional segment represents the large market for this sweet, translated into frozen foods, snack bars, ready-to-prepare foods, ice cream, confectionery and wholesale.
Product history
Dulce de leche was invented in Argentina in 1829, being created from a culinary accident and, over the years, it was incorporated into the local cuisine and exported to other regions, such as Brazil. From this expansion, the sweet began to gain international recognition and became part of the Latin American gastronomic culture, being served as a dessert, filling cakes, mixed with ice cream or even with fresh fruit.
International market
Recently, the export of the product abroad has been increasing, as seen in Comex Stat data that show that there was an increase in the value exported from 2016 to 2019 to approximately US$225,236, with a growth rate of 41%. The countries that most import dulce de leche are the United States and our Latin American neighbors, there is great growth potential in the US and Europe as they do not produce it.
Mainly Portugal and Netherlands showed the largest import of sweet milk on the old continent, according to Comex Stat data from 2019. The Brazilian industry has been adapting the formulations to the taste of these consumers, creating a new classification, called "Export-type Milk Sweet".
The importance of assistance from an international consultancy
There is great potential for the internationalization of this product, as there is little competition in new markets, such as the case of the European market, in which it is almost untouched and with a simple consultancy it is possible to identify the best countries to export.
By Antonio Pedro Miranda on 11/21/19
Sources: