Candy Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 1,670 candy manufacturers in the US combine chocolate, sugar, and other raw ingredients to produce confections and chocolate-based products. Products consist primarily of chocolate and non-chocolate candies. Chocolate candies include bars, baking chocolate, coatings, syrups, liquors, powdered cocoa, fudge, and covered nuts. Non-chocolate candies include gum, chewy candy, hard candy, jelly candy, licorice, marshmallows, and toffee.
Variability in Raw Ingredient Costs
The cost of raw ingredients used in candy manufacturing can vary significantly from year to year, according to trends in commodity prices.
Seasonality
Demand for candy peaks during key holiday periods, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of total confectionary sales occurring during four holidays.
Industry size & Structure
A typical candy manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs 49 workers, and generates about $22 million annually.
- The candy manufacturing industry comprises about 1,670 companies that employ 81,300 workers and generate $36.8 billion annually.
- Chocolate confectionery manufacturing accounts for 53% of industry sales.
- The candy manufacturing industry is concentrated - the top four chocolate confectionary manufacturing firms are about 53% of category sales. While non-chocolate confectionary manufacturing is less concentrated, large firms still dominate - the top 20 companies are 76% of category sales.
- Large companies include Mars Wrigley, Hershey, Nestle, and Tootsie Roll Industries.
Industry Forecast
Candy Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 30, 2025 - Exempting Candy From SNAP
- SNAP benefits could no longer be used to purchase candy and soda if Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr has his way, Fortune reports. The secretaries of HHS and the USDA have signaled their support for stripping such treats from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for low-income families. RFK Jr. has likened additives and dyes used to make some candies as “poison” and wants them out of the nation’s food supply. However, excluding candy from SNAP would require Congress to change the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which says SNAP benefits can be used for “any food or food product intended for human consumption,” except alcohol, tobacco and hot foods. Fortune reports that bills are pending in Congress – including the Healthy SNAP Act introduced in February – and in several states to restrict SNAP benefits from paying for candy, soda, and the like.
- Sales of confectionary products totaled $54.2 billion in 2024, according to the National Confectioners Association’s (NCA) 2025 State of Treating report. Non-chocolate candy outperformed chocolate and gum & mints, posting a 4.9% increase in dollar sales, according to Circana data. By comparison, dollar sales of gum & mints rose 1.9% year over year, while chocolate dollar sales growth inched up 0.4% YoY. While steeply rising prices for cocoa and sugar forced candy makers to focus more on non-chocolate candies last year, at $28.1 billion chocolate sales accounted for more than half of industry sales. However, all categories saw unit sales fall, with chocolate down 3.3% compared to a year ago, gum & mints down 2.2%, and non-chocolate down 0.3%, per Circana. The NCA forecasts that US confectionery sales will rise over the next five years, exceeding $70 billion in all outlets by 2029.
- Farmers in the world’s top cocoa-producing regions are abandoning their crops despite high record prices, The Wall Street Journal reported in January. A combination of bad weather, disease, and failed government policies – intended to protect cocoa farmers from volatile swings in global markets – has farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast uprooting their cocoa crops and reseeding fields. Cacao swollen-shoot virus, a disease that causes root necrosis and kills cocoa trees, has afflicted cocoa crops in recent years. Another factor in farmers’ decisions to abandon cocoa is faulty government policies, including a fixed price that the countries pay farmers for their beans, that’s prevented growers from profiting on the price rise, WSJ reports. Cocoa production in Ivory Coast dropped 22% during the 12-month season that ended Sept. 30, from the same period a year earlier, while Ghana’s output plunged 27% over the same period, according to the International Cocoa Organization.
- Chocolate and candy makers stung by high ingredient prices this year likely are in for more of the same in 2025, Candy Industry reports. According to Ofir Ardon, chief business officer of crop supply intelligence company Agritask, three key trends will affect the food industry and candymakers in 2025. First, climate change will continue to drive unpredictability in agricultural commodity supplies, leading to volatility in prices for key ingredients like cocoa, sugar, and nuts, and driving companies to focus on supply chain resilience and diversification. Second, the confectionery industry will prioritize ingredient quality as a key factor in consumer purchasing decisions. Third, sustainability will remain a top priority, with companies adapting to climate impacts and consumer awareness, which will drive innovation in sourcing, packaging, and production methods to reduce environmental footprints. Continued volatility in the cocoa market in 2025 especially will significantly impact the confectionery industry's inventory management strategies.
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