U.S. confectionery market share 2018, by company

With a share of roughly 30 percent in 2018, Hershey led the U.S. confectionery market. Hershey was closely followed by top competitor Mars, which held a share of just under 30 percent that year.

Popular candy types

In most regions in the world, chocolate generated the highest sales numbers in 2017. Nearly 35 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of chocolate sales were earned in Western Europe alone. The Asian Pacific region was the only area where a different confection generated higher sales numbers than chocolate. Within that region, sugar-based candy reached over 20 billion U.S. dollars, while chocolate accounted for approximately 15 billion.

Non-chocolate

Besides chocolate, the U.S. confectionery industry also produces non-chocolate candy. In 2019, this specific segment generated about five and a half 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 2018.