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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

difference between countline and tablet

English answer:

Origin of term: countline sold by count/number/unit v tablet sold by weight

Added to glossary by Peter Simon
Oct 13, 2017 10:03
6 yrs ago
24 viewers *
English term

difference between countline and table

English Bus/Financial Food & Drink snack, sweets
Dear Colleagues,

I'm not sure I can ask such a question here, but I have nowhere else to ask. I'm stuck on this difference. My text, from a large international snack producer, is a hectic one, not much about one subject before jumping to another, but this is the text in the chocolate production context and starting with a particular brand in perspective for the US market.

"... there is a monthly call with the planning team in the US. They remain confident. The market is very different; it is more a countline than a tablet business. XXX shared that we see what is working and we are starting to adapt our plans. The business is growing and we are now starting to build our plans for 2018 so we will get a better picture on the volumes."

The client the text comes from provided me with a description (through the agency) of what they mean by countline (which I had already known) as follows: "By "countlines" they mean chocolate bars or tablets packed and sold in a pack, as opposed to sold as single items."

I may be a bit slow on the uptake, but I've been struggling for 2 days to understand why they call a difference between selling chocolate bars in a pack "very different" from selling them as single items, when in the case of chocolate bars/tablets, packaging is always there, though not in packs of 10. I haven't ever seen chocolate bars/tablets in packs of, say, 10 on a shop shelf. Before I can understand the huge importance of the difference between two packaging sizes, I can't translate them into my target language, where I'm also placing this question. Hopefully some help can arrive before my deadline expires.

Thank you for any help and have a nice day.
Responses
3 +5 Origin of term: countline sold by count/number/unit v tablet sold by weight
1 -1 Quality vs Quantity
Change log

Oct 15, 2017 07:44: Peter Simon changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/1725400">Peter Simon's</a> old entry - "difference between countline and table"" to ""Origin of term: countline sold by count/number/unit v tablet sold by weight""

Discussion

B D Finch Oct 14, 2017:
@Brigitte Slightly straying from the point: the chocolate at the checkout is there to encourage both impulse purchases and purchases due to the pester power of children. The latter is why British supermarkets were pressured to stop displaying confectionery by the checkout. I limit my impulse buying and chocolate intake by never buying anything from the checkout display. Not hard, as I prefer to buy Fairtrade, organic chocolate, which also limits my consumption.
Peter Simon (asker) Oct 14, 2017:
Sorry, airmailpl, you're right in pointing this out in my headline (sometimes a quick finger doesn't touch a key properly and one doesn't realize it), but as it was correctly copied into the text showing the context, most people didn't really err...
airmailrpl Oct 14, 2017:
the difference is... the difference between "countline" and "tableT" - the asker erred in writing the term to be consulted and apparently you are perpetuating the error
Daryo Oct 14, 2017:
the difference is in how it's presented on the shelf.

All chocolate is sold wholesale in more or less big boxes, the difference between "countline" and "table" is in what is offered as a "unit" sold retail - is the retail price for just one "table", or does the retail packaging contain several individually wrapped pieces of chocolate. In UK occasionally you can find retail packs" of say 5 x 100gr tablets sold retail, or 5 x 200gr, or even more.
airmailrpl Oct 13, 2017:
on page 3
[PDF]Case No COMP/M.5644 - KRAFT FOODS / CADBURY - European ...
ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/decisions/m5644_20100106_20212_en.pdf
Jan 6, 2010 - Tablets are chocolate blocks of more than 59g, which usually have a traditional rectangular or square shape and are moulded so as to enable ...
Peter Simon (asker) Oct 13, 2017:
Thanks, Brigitte, that's what I was talking about. I knew the dict. definitions, but not about the last one, and not about the source of the HU opinion: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/decisions/m564...

Now, I suspect there is a still undecided definition debate internationally between what seems to be a European and an American definition, as I think my client is more American than British. I haven't ever encountered such as contradictory situation as this...
BrigitteHilgner Oct 13, 2017:
Confusing I hadn't checked before, but after checking I get the impression that IN GENERAL, countline is another word for chocolate bar:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/de/worterbuch/englisch/cou...
and
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/countline
but some go further:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/countline
and then there is:
https://www.talkingretail.com/products-news/confectionery/fe...
Peter Simon (asker) Oct 13, 2017:
Dear Colleagues, Thank you all very much for the educating contribution to this matter, it has been very useful. Now on another perspective.

On the same question on the EN-HU forum, a colleague has just posted the following:

Tablets
are chocolate blocks of more than 59g, whic
h usually have a traditional rectangular or
square shape and are moulded so as to enable
the block to be broken into regularly shaped
bite size pieces. Some are filled with nuts and ra
isins. They are made of different types of
chocolate such as milk, dark and white.
16.
Countlines
are individually-wrapped bars with filling ingredients which are then usually
completely covered with chocolate coating or
a bar of solid chocolate which has the same
rectangular shape as a typical countline. Countlines are usually eaten as a personal snack

Unfortuantely, she hasn't posted the source, but she has posted addresses with photos, where this kind of difference is marked. I'm not a great fan of Google and photo collections, so I'm rather interested if anyone here could corroborate that this text of explanation is also fully valid. Thank you.
BrigitteHilgner Oct 13, 2017:
I am guessing ... because I do not know the US-American market well. As far as I know, consumers there like multi-packs (judging by what I read in the papers and see on TV, some consumers there go for large quantities - and it shows ...). As far as chocolate bars are concerned (the situation for tablets is different), here in Austria you frequently find single bars at the cash point, but multi-packs of all sorts of bars on the shelf. I confess: since I am struggling to keep my weight down, I (single, no family) don't buy multi-packs (I don't even know whether they are cheaper) but I now and then I buy a single bar at the cash point (if I only have a single bar at home, I won't eat more than this single bar). I can well imagine that mothers with children make different decisions.
I assume that the single bar at the cash point attracts a different type of customer (mainly (but ont only) young adults who buy their lunch/snack at the supermarket in a hurry) than the pack of 10 bars on the shelf (mothers of xxx children).
B D Finch Oct 13, 2017:
@airmailrpl I like chocolate too, but what has that bit of hype got to do with the question? (Remember to limit your sugar intake and brush your teeth after indulging.)
B D Finch Oct 13, 2017:
Multi-bar packs These packs are generally presented as though they are offering a discount on the price of individual bars of chocolate. This is often not the case and may be a form of deception (as I have noticed in my local supermarket with a well-known brand of paper tissues). It is unusual for multi-bar packs to contain more than three or four bars of chocolate and they are less frequently used for the more upmarket brands.
airmailrpl Oct 13, 2017:
dark chocolate-> superfood With all of its natural and health-promoting components (like flavonoids, polyphenols and flavanols), dark chocolate is an antioxidant powerhouse and a superfood that's truly a joy to eat. It's been shown to boost heart and brain health, along with fight disease — just some of the many benefits of dark chocolate.Dec 25, 2016
7 Awesome Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate - Dr. Axe
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-dark-chocolate/
Terry Richards Oct 13, 2017:
A bit deeper I think the difference is more than just the physical location. The marketing would also be different for a considered purchase versus an impulse purchase. For the countline you might stress the value aspects whereas for the impulse purchase you would more stress the "coolness" of the item. [Always bearing in mind that this is junk food and neither good value nor "cool"!]
Peter Simon (asker) Oct 13, 2017:
Thank you, Terry, I understand, but in the countries I've lived in I haven't ever seen such chocolate bar packages. I understand the point, but why is it enough to say the "market is different"? The text is not about the differences between the isle and the checkout point, but about the countline and tablet business. Is it possible that I don't see the point because there are countries where there is a market for countlines and ones where such a market simply doesn't exist? If that's the case behind my lack of understanding, I'm wondering how I'll be able to put it into my target L ... hopefully, someone there will also be able to have an idea about that. But thank you very much for your contribution.
Terry Richards Oct 13, 2017:
Some differences In the supermarket, the multi-bar packs are on the aisle, the individual bars are next to the checkout. The multi-packs represent a conscious decision to buy (perhaps you are going to put one in your child's lunch box each day) whereas the individual packs are more of a spontaneous purchase (that's why they put them by the checkout where you have to stop moving and you are bored). Similarly, a newsagent or tobacconist would sell individual bars but probably not multi-packs.

Responses

+5
4 hrs
Selected

Origin of term: countline sold by count/number/unit v tablet sold by weight

The market definition of a chocolate countline is a product that is sold by count rather than weight (like moulded bars), — a chocolate product that is bought "for me now."
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qCZOAAAAYAAJ&dq="countli...

In the 1980s Cadbury (the predecessor of Cadbury Trebor Bassett) developed a new production process which could extrude chocolate into different shapes and textures without the use of moulds which was used to manufacture a new impulse ‘countline’ snack product. Countline is the name given to chocolate bars originally sold by number in units rather than by weight. In 2006 the overall countline market was worth around £850m (Cadbury promotional literature, 2006). The new product brief was to develop a product that would ‘build on Cadbury’s Dairy Milk heritage in a pure chocolate countline format, exploring all possible textures, configurations and resultant “eats”’ (Cadbury, 1991).
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lqN-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT396&lp...

• Countlines: chocolate-covered bars designed to be eaten as a snack and on the go. This includes bitesize countlines sold in multipacks. This category has an extremely wide range of brands, with many available in different sizes or multipacks to address each of the areas of consumer needs, from hunger satisfaction to indulgence. Manufacturers are constantly developing new varieties. This market segment is dominated by “Kit Kat” and “Mars” bars. Products marketed as biscuits or cookies are not included in this category;
• Tablets: solid chocolate bars, blocks or tablets shaped by pouring melted chocolate into moulds, with or without added ingredients;
http://s3.amazonaws.com/zanran_storage/www.icco.org/ContentP...

26.2 Confectionery types
26.2.1 Moulded chocolate tablets and bars
26.2.2 Chocolate countlines
The “countline” is the core of the large-scale chocolate business in many countries. It is typically an enrobed irregular shaped product in contrast to the uniform shape of a tablet. Flow wrap packaging formats dominate the countline market.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=o1A_DgAAQBAJ&pg=PT980&lp...

The three basic categories are:
(i) Chocolate bars (which may or may not be filled). The typical product is a standard bar of say, Cadbury's or Hershey's.
(ii) Countlines (so called because they are normally sold in single units, that is, by "count" as are chocolate bars, but involve a mixture of chocolate with other ingredients). The quintessential countline is the Mars bar, but the category covers a broad range of items including light products such as chocolate-covered wafers of the Kit-Kat type.
(iii) Assortments
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HfxcCO5msgwC&pg=PA267&dq...

Note from asker:
This is very interesting, thank you.
Peer comment(s):
agree Christine007 : Thanks Alison for helping!
14 mins
agree Morad Seif
57 mins
agree Yvonne Gallagher : 100%
1 hr
agree Ashutosh Mitra
12 hrs
agree acetran
22 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you and all for your help! I do miss a clear reaction to the definitions I quoted in the debate section though, which is somewhat contradictory to this."
-1
3 hrs

Quality vs Quantity

Quality "healthy" sweets than quantity.

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Note added at 11 hrs (2017-10-13 21:14:56 GMT)
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https://books.google.ro/books?id=GCWsAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA106&lpg=P...

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Note added at 11 hrs (2017-10-13 21:15:30 GMT)
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https://books.google.ro/books?id=GCWsAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA106&lpg=P...

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Note added at 11 hrs (2017-10-13 21:17:59 GMT)
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Apologies for such a big link..

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Note added at 18 hrs (2017-10-14 04:27:40 GMT)
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For Gallagy: She share the link in a few parts. Important thing is that our collegue Peter resolve the problem.

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Note added at 18 hrs (2017-10-14 04:32:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Google it: Consumer Behavior Analysis: (A) Rational Approach to Consumer Choice
editat de Donald A. Hantula,Victoria K. Wells
Very important to know exactly what are you search for to find an answer..

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Note added at 18 hrs (2017-10-14 04:55:40 GMT)
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If not, Google search for key words: countline and table chocolate
Reference:

http://https://books.google.ro/books?id=HfxcCO5msgwC&pg=PA267&lpg=PA267&dq=countline+and+table+chocolate&source=bl&ots=3EeJX6GKo6&sig=cjeXmv

Note from asker:
Thank you, Christine, but your source is unavailable and your solution contradicts all other available solutions and meanings, provide here too, sorry.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Yvonne Gallagher : not at all//sorry but it's nothing to do with quantity vs quality or "healthy" sweets. And your link doesn't work whereas Alison gives several relevent ones to prove her point.
1 hr
The link I posted is already taken by Alison my dear.. Anyway, good luck!
Something went wrong...
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