A super expensive box of chocolates I received for my birthday made me think of perceived value.

Four small chocolates in a beautiful box cost about RM56.  Each chocolate, no larger than a dice, was a whopping RM14 per bite, literally. My husband, who bought the chocolates, wanted me to have at least eight pieces so I could try the different flavours. I didn’t. I couldn’t. Extra expensive doesn’t necessarily translate into extra yum.

I think I now know enough about chocolates, having tested and tasted a wide selection of these wonderful creations in my lifetime. I’ve also salivated, and read enough about this delectable topic. I appreciate the specialness of chocolate in terms of its origins, ingredients, technique and production. Infact, I see myself as an enthusiastic chocolate consumer, not connoisseur, with a relatively discerning palette to suss out the wannabes and real McCoys. 

Which brings me to these morsels of chocolate. They are purveyed in a fancy shop in a fancy shopping mall in KL. I was audibly groaning at the prices only to see a customer buying them as if chocolates and money were going out of fashion. She chose the chocolates, many pieces, randomly, without calculating and caring about the price per 100gm. Or so it appeared to me. It was almost dismissively purchased. She rang up a bill of close to RM800.  

After she had checked out, we were told by the retail assistants that sales were brisk. There were orders for about 10 hand-picked hampers, and a few more ready-made hampers that week. Each costing from about RM600 plus to over RM1000. Admittedly, it was during the festive period in March. I guess, the mighty rich and companies are increasingly gifting chocolates as personal or corporate treats, at these stratospheric prices, to their favoured friends, family, clients and customers. A relationship/marketing building strategy, yes.

Anyways, back to my four chocolates. I ate one a day over four days. They were too small to actually savour completely. To be fair, they tasted nice enough. Good quality, yes, but not exceptional. Not at that price. Visually, the grandeur of the shop, the enticing display of Neapolitans, bonbons, pralines, truffles and large slabs of milk, dark, white chocolate filled with nuts and dried fruits attracted me. And, played a huge part in sealing the deal, albeit, a relatively small one. For me, the perceived value and expectation failed the taste and pleasure tests. Extra expensive, in this instance, didn’t mean extra yum. It happens.

By the way, ‘The gourmet chocolate industry is a significant market, with the premium chocolate market alone estimated at $39.35 billion in 2025, up from $36.04 billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow to $58.90 billion by 2030[1]. Billions, yes. The overall chocolate market is even larger, valued at $130.72 billion in 2024, with projections of $172.89 billion by 2030. 

Gourmet, premium … what ? Gourmet chocolates are all about higher quality ingredients, artisanal production, and rich flavour profiles. Premium chocolates are at the top-end of the spectrum, exceptional ingredients, meticulous production, with a focus on complex flavours. And then there are branded chocolates. These can be of varying quality, and are recognized by their brand name and associated image. 

There were no easily available figures on gourmet and premium chocolate spend but apparently high-quality packaging and innovative branding strategies could account for up to 15% of overall operating expenses[2]. I did find spend by branded chocolate companies on advertising and packaging, and marketing strategies such as celebrity partnerships and targeted campaigns.  

For instance, Mondelez International, which owns brands like Cadbury, Oreo, Milka, invested close to $2.06 billion in advertising across the globe in 2023, up from $1.67 billion previously, which is an annual growth of over 23 percent[3]. Wow. While Swiss premium chocolate producer, Lindt & Sprüngli has Roger Federer as its global brand ambassador.[4] Hmm.

There have been other instances when I’ve been caught out by looks, advertising, and marketing noise. My husband and I had an underwhelming experience with a high-end macaron brand some years ago. The fancy shop was in another fancy mall. Each piece costs about thrice the price compared with its other ‘normal’ just as nice or nicer poorer cousins. I not only talked my husband into having macarons, which he doesn’t like, I actually have two t-shirts featuring the brand and macarons. I got them not at the macaron shop but at Uniqlo, a popular retailer. A tie-up that I bought into … sad me. The macaron shop has since closed.

These days, I’m more reticent to splurge or indulge in posh names, particularly when it comes to desserts as much depends on personal taste and subjective value. One lady’s yummilicious brownie might be another lady’s meh brownie. That sort of thing.

That said, I still explore and treat myself to new, inventive chocolates/desserts, but measuredly.