Candy Manufacturers NAICS 311340, 311351, 311352

May 30, 2025 - Record Chocolate Prices

• The price of chocolate is high and likely to stay that way, candy distributor Redstone Foods warned in April. Tariffs on imports to the US, including chocolate and the cocoa used to produce it, are adding to climate-related cost pressures that have battered global cocoa production for more than a decade, according to Redstone. In January 2025, cocoa prices hit a new high at $10,710 per metric ton compared to around $2,000 per ton in 2022. Threatening to drive cocoa prices even higher is the looming action by the European Union to strictly enforce deforestation-free requirements for all cocoa imports from major suppliers effective December 30, 2025. (Micro, or small businesses will have until June 2026 to meet the requirements).The new rules demand GPS-tracked proof that every bean was grown sustainably, which is seen as a logistical nightmare for many small-scale farmers.
• Major chocolate brands are responding to record high cocoa costs by hiking prices, according to candy distributor Redstone Foods. Hershey and Cadbury parent Mondelez have already begun raising retail prices and shrinking their package sizes – a practice known as “shrinkflation.” Also, some major brands are exploring ingredient substitutions, such as replacing cocoa butter with less expensive oils or experimenting with carob as a cacao alternative. Rising input costs and tariffs are squeezing margins for chocolatiers. In February, Hershey forecast lower-than-expected 2025 profit on higher cocoa prices. Rival Mondelez has also forecast a bigger-than-estimated drop in its annual profit, as it anticipates more pressure from surging cocoa prices.

• 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.