U.S. confectionery market share 2020, by company

With a share of roughly 30 percent in 2020, Hershey led the U.S. confectionery market. The company was closely followed by top competitor Mars, which held a share of just over 27 percent that year.

Popular candy types

Among the various types of products in the confectionery sector, chocolate usually generates the highest sales numbers. In 2020, Western Europe accounted for the highest market share of chocolate confectionery worldwide. That region of the world houses many of the countries with the highest consumption of chocolate per capita in the world.

Non-chocolate

Besides chocolate, the U.S. confectionery industry also produces non-chocolate candy. In 2020, this specific segment generated almost nine billion U.S. dollars’ worth of sales in the United States. The segment includes various types of candy, such as licorice, specialty nuts, and breath fresheners. Chewy candy, such as jellybeans or taffy, was the leading non-chocolate candy category: chewy candy generated over three and a half billion U.S. dollars’ worth of sales in 2019.