ABSTRACT
It might seem perverse to begin at the end of the commodity chain, but demand for chocolate, or even addiction in the case of ‘chocoholics’, can be seen as the prime mover of the whole chain. There was a favourable longterm trend in demand for chocolate up to 1914, embedded in cultural preferences, and occasionally affected by shifts in taste, production techniques, availability or cost (Burnett 1999; Barr 1998). This chapter concentrates on changing fashions and competing products, while the themes of manufacturing and state intervention are taken up later.
