Nils-Gerrit Wunsch
Research expert covering foods trends in North America, Europe, and the global food system
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Breaking down global consumption, preserved pastry goods and cakes make up the highest volume share, with close to 63 million metric tons eaten annually. In general, sugar confectionery is more popular than chocolate. The global per capita chocolate consumption comes to 2.3 kilograms, compared to three kilograms of sugar confectionery. However, chocolate is more valuable per gram than sugar confectionery and thus generates a larger share of the global confectionery market revenue. Germany is especially fond of chocolate. About 70 percent of snackers regularly eat chocolate bars in Germany. The country is also the leading exporter of chocolate confectionery and other cocoa products and ranks second among importers of chocolate confectionery.The global market and its major players
When ice cream is included, the global confectionery market comes to about a trillion U.S. dollars and is expected to grow. The leading company in the confectionery market is Mars Incorporated. Mars' net sales amount to 20 billion U.S. dollars. Ranked fifth, the Swiss company Nestlé saw its confectionery sales decline from 2012 to 2020. Now recovering, the confectionery department of Nestlé is dominated by chocolate, with a sales value of over 5.7 billion Swiss francs in 2021, while sugar confectionery only accounted for 651 million francs of income. Hershey's Reese's, the most popular brand for chocolate under 3.5 ounces in the U.S., generated 671.1 million U.S. dollars alone. On the global market, Hershey surpasses Nestlé by a few hundred million U.S. dollars in net sales and claims the fourth rank.
