List of top-selling candy brands

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The table below summarizes some of the top-selling candy brands in different countries. Candy is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called sugar confectionery, encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar candy. Vegetables, fruit, or nuts which have been glazed and coated with sugar are said to be candied.

Top-selling chocolates and sweets

CountryBrand [1] Image2012 annual sales
(in millions USD)		Notes
Flag of the United States.svg  United States Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Reeses-PB-Cups.png 2,603 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the No. 1 selling candy brand in the United States, [1] consisting of white fudge, milk, or dark chocolate cups filled with peanut butter. They were invented by H.B. Reese after he founded the H. B. Reese Candy Company in 1923. Initially working from the basement of his Hershey, Pennsylvania home, Reese's success eventually allowed him to build two modern factories. [2] Reese died on May 16, 1956, in West Palm Beach, Florida, leaving the company to his six sons. [3] On July 2, 1963, the H. B. Reese Candy Company merged with the Hershey Chocolate Corporation in a tax free stock-for-stock merger. In 2024 after 61 years of stock splits, [4] the original 666,316 shares of Hershey common stock received by the Reese brothers represent 16 million Hershey shares valued at over $4.4 billion that pay annual cash dividends of $87.6 million. [5] [6] In 1969, six years after the Reese/Hershey merger, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups became The Hershey Company's top seller. [7]
Flag of the United States.svg  United States M&M's Plain-M&Ms-Pile.jpg 2,300 Mars Incorporated owns M&M's which are "colorful button-shaped chocolates" consisting of a hard candy shell surrounding a filling that differs depending on the variety, each of which has the letter "m" printed in lower case on one side. In 1940, M&M Limited was founded in Newark, New Jersey. [8] The name "M&Ms" stands for Mars and Murrie, which were the last names of the two company founders, Forrest Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie (who owned 20% of M&M Limited). Murrie was the son of Hershey Chocolate president William F. R. Murrie. This arrangement allowed M&M's to be made with Hershey Chocolate, as Hershey had control of rationed chocolate during World War II. [9]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Cadbury's Dairy Milk Cadbury-Dairy-Milk-Caramel-Bar.jpg 852 Cadbury's Dairy Milk is a chocolate bar that claims to have a glass and a half of milk in every bar. This chocolate treat was created in 1904 and became an instant hit following its initial sales in 1905. [10] Cadbury was bought out by Kraft Foods in 2010. [11]
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Milka BarraChocolateMilkaalmendrado.JPG 733Milka is milk chocolate that is manufactured by the Mondelēz International (formerly Kraft Foods) Company. It was first created in 1901. The candy's packaging includes a lilac-colored cow. [12]
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Trident 682Trident, made by Cadbury, is not only the No. 1 candy in Brazil, it is also the No. 1 brand of chewing gum in the world.
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Meiji Meiji milk chocolate.jpg 479Meiji chocolate is manufactured by Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd., which was established in 1916 and is located in Tokyo. Meiji chocolates flavors include cheese, black pepper, jasmine, basil, and lemon salt. [13]
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Orbit Gum 445Orbit gum first got its name during the Second World War when Wrigley shipped all of their chewing gum overseas to the troops and began manufacturing gum for the civilians under the name of Orbit. After the war, the name Orbit disappeared again. In the 1970s, Wrigley began selling sugar-free gum under the name of Orbit in European countries. It was not until 2001 that Orbit gum returned to the United States. [14]
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Fazer Blue Fazer Blue.png 443Fazer Blue chocolate (200g) by Fazer is the most sold candy in Finland. [15] [16]
Flag of France.svg  France Hollywood 318Hollywood Chewing Gum was the first French chewing gum, and it was created in 1952. The French were introduced to chewing gum for the first time by the American troops stationed there in 1944. In 1958, the gum's main advertising focus was that of the American Dream. While Hollywood now offers a variety of different flavors, the very first flavor was spearmint. [17]
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Vivident Gum313Vivident is a sugar-free gum that is manufactured by the Perfetti Van Melle Group and is wildly popular in Italy. Advertisements for the gum has been claimed to be behind the gum's popularity. [18]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Hsu Fu Chi 256The Hsu Fu Chi company started in 1992 with brothers by the name of Hsu. The company makes a wide variety of candy, including lollipops, gummies, jelly beans, chocolates, and pastries. The company was bought out by Nestle in 2011. [19]
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Alpen Gold198Alpen Gold is a brand of chocolate produced in Russia. They sell chocolate bars, pralines, and boxes of chocolates. Their chocolate often includes ingredients such as raisins, nuts, and liqueur. [20]
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Cadbury's Dairy Milk 197Cadbury's Dairy Milk is a chocolate bar that claims to have a glass and a half of milk in every bar. This chocolate treat was created in 1904 and became an instant hit following its initial sales in 1905. [10]
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Orion 142Production of Orion chocolate began in 1896 as a part of a small family business in Prague. The chocolate became very popular, representing one-third of the chocolate produced in the Czech Republic. In 1991, Nestlé took over Orion chocolate, which has only helped boost the popularity of the candy. [21]
Flag of India.svg  India Cadbury's Dairy Milk 127Cadbury's Dairy Milk is a chocolate bar that claims to have a glass and a half of milk in every bar. This chocolate treat was created in 1904 and became an instant hit following its initial sales in 1905. [10]
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina TopLine gum 124TopLine gum is manufactured by a company by the name of Arcor, which was started in 1951. [22]
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Ambrosoli Honees-Regular&Milk-Drops.jpg 102Ambrosoli is the largest candy manufacturer in Chile. The company produces a wide variety of candies, including jelly and hard candy. [23]
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Elite Elite-Pesek-Zman-Split.jpg 93Elite candy is manufactured by the Strauss Group and includes a variety of different types of candies.
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Beacon Sweets and Chocolates 69Candy manufactured by the Beacon Sweets and Chocolates company is the top-selling candy in South Africa. They produce a wide variety of candies, including gummies, jelly candy, chocolate, and more.
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia Jet 47Jet chocolate bars are produced by Compania Nacional de Chocolates. The candy was first manufactured in the 1960s.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confectionery</span> Prepared foods rich in sugar and carbohydrates

Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections. The occupation of confectioner encompasses the categories of cooking performed by both the French patissier and the confiseur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadbury</span> British multinational confectionery company

Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Greater London, and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box, and many other confectionery products. One of the best-known British brands, in 2013 The Daily Telegraph named Cadbury among Britain's most successful exports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hershey Company</span> American food company

The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. The Hershey Company is one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world; it also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milkshakes, as well as other products. The Hershey Company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, originally established as a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a minority stake but retains a majority of the voting power within the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrigley Company</span> American company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, known as the Wrigley Company, is an American multinational candy and chewing gum company, based in the Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York Peppermint Pattie</span> Peppermint confection made by Hershey

York Peppermint Pattie is an American dark chocolate enrobed peppermint confection introduced in 1940 and currently produced by the Hershey Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reese's Pieces</span> Peanut butter candy

Reese's Pieces are a peanut butter candy manufactured by The Hershey Company; they are oblate spheroid in shape and covered in candy shells that are colored yellow, orange, or brown. They can be purchased in plastic packets, cardboard boxes, or cup-shaped travel containers. The Reese company was founded by H.B. Reese. The H.B. Reese Candy Company was merged with The Hershey Company in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reese's Peanut Butter Cups</span> American candy made by Hersheys

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are an American candy by The Hershey Company consisting of a peanut butter cup encased in chocolate. They were created on November 15, 1928, by H. B. Reese, a former dairy farmer and shipping foreman for Milton S. Hershey. Reese left his job with Hershey to start his own candy business. Reese's are a top-selling candy brand worldwide, with more than $2 billion in annual sales generated for The Hershey Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. B. Reese</span> American businessman and inventor

Harry Burnett Reese was an American inventor and businessman known for creating the number one-selling candy brand in the United States; Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and founding the H. B. Reese Candy Company. In 2009, he was posthumously inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kraft Foods Inc.</span> Defunct American food and beverage company

Kraft Foods Inc. was a multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It marketed many brands in more than 170 countries. Twelve of its brands annually earned more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, and Tang. Forty of its brands were at least a century old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowntree's</span> English confectionery company

Nestlé UK Ltd, trading as Rowntree's, is a British confectionery brand and a former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat, Aero, Fruit Pastilles, Smarties brands, and the Rolo and Quality Street brands when it merged with Mackintosh's in 1969 to form Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery. Rowntree's also launched After Eight thin mint chocolates in 1962. The Yorkie and Lion bars were introduced in 1976. Rowntree's also pioneered the festive selection box which in the UK have been a staple gift at Christmas for over a century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leaf International</span> Defunct confectionery company

Leaf International BV was a confectionery company founded in the 1940s. Leaf had sales of approximately €527m (2010) and 2,400 employees. It had 11 factories in seven countries. Leaf was owned by CVC Capital Partners, Nordic Capital, and management. Bengt Baron was the CEO of Leaf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farley's & Sathers Candy Company</span> Umbrella candy company

Farley's & Sathers Candy Company was created as an umbrella company to roll up many small companies, brands and products under a common management team. The confectionery business segment is made up of many small companies, often with intertwined relationships and histories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Confectioners Association</span> American trade organization

The National Confectioners Association is an American trade organization that promotes chocolate, candy, gum and mints, and the companies that make these treats. NCA lobbies the American government in favor of the confectionery industry, evaluated at US$35 billion. Confections are produced in all 50 states. The association "annually hosts the National Candy Show in Chicago, as well as the Candy Hall of Fame". As of 2024, the Sweets and Snacks Expo will take place in Indianapolis.

Two multi-national companies, Wrigley and Cadbury, together account for some 60% market share of the worldwide chewing gum market. The global market shares for the top five chewing gum companies are estimated to be:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearson's Candy Company</span> American chocolate and confectionery manufacturer

Pearson's Candy Company is an American chocolate and confectionery manufacturer headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded as a confectionery distribution firm in 1909, the company began to manufacture its own products in 1912. Originally a family-owned company, Pearson's experienced changes in ownership, acquisitions and product alterations in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, before its most recent sale in November 2018 to Spell Capital, a Minneapolis private equity firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Wedel</span> Polish confectionery company

E. Wedel is a Polish confectionery company, which has been producing a variety of chocolates, cakes, and snacks since 1851. Wedel is also a well-recognized brand of candy in Poland, considered to be the "Polish national chocolate brand" in that market, and is the leading candy brand among Polish producers with about 14% of the Polish market in 2005 and 11.7% in 2007.

Mondelez International, Inc., styled as Mondelēz International, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual revenue of about $26.5 billion and operates in approximately 160 countries. It ranked No. 108 in the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

References

  1. 1 2 "Snickers Surging to Top of Global Candy Race". Ad Age. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  2. ↑ "The H.B. Reese Candy Company Story". BradReeseCom. Lebanon Daily News. June 9, 1956. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  3. ↑ "H.B. Reese Death Announcement". BradReeseCom. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Stock Split History". The Hershey Company. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  5. ↑ "The 1963 Reese/Hershey Merger Closing Agenda" (PDF). BradReeseCom. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Hershey Raises Quarterly Dividends". Hershey Company. February 8, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Was it Hershey or Reese That Made Peanut Butter Cups Great?". Atlas Obscura. 27 October 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Mars Our History". Mars. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Murrie, William F.R.; 1873-1950". Hershey Community Archives. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 "About Chocolate". Cadbury. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  11. ↑ Louise Lucas (November 11, 2011). "No humbug in the nostalgia sweet market". The Financial Times.
  12. ↑ "Brands-M". Kraft Foods Inc. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd". Funding Universe. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Orbit". Wrigley. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  15. ↑ Baraka, Josefiina (10 November 2017). "Tässä ovat Suomen myydyimmät makeiset – yksi ei väisty ykköspallilta". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "The Face of Finland's Fazer Confectionery".
  17. ↑ "Hollywood". Cadbury Inc. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  18. ↑ McDonnel-Perry, Amelia. "Vivident Gum's Man Boobs & Marionettes". The Frisky. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Hsu Fu Chi International Ltd". Hsu Fu Chi Inc. Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Largest Brands". Kraft Foods Inc. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Orion". Nestle. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  22. ↑ "All About Arcor". Arcor. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Ambrosoli must be everywhere". A Quarter Of Ltd. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
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