US chocolate market will continue to grow; lead by Hershey, Mars, Ferrero and Lindt

The chocolate market in the United States will continue to grow, with more products low in calories and sugars, highlighted the company Veroni Brands Corp.

For now, US imports of chocolates and their manufactures were estimated at 2,711 million dollars from January to August 2021, a year-on-year increase of 2.2 percent

Consumers are increasingly aware of the health effects associated with excessive consumption of sugar and fat.

In response to changing preferences, according to Veroni Brands, low-calorie, low-sugar, and more nutritious types of chocolate are becoming more popular.

Premium, dark and organic chocolates are key products that benefit from this trend.

In particular, Canada dominates as a third-party provider. In the first eight months of the current year, its exports to the US market were 1,088 million dollars, 9.1% more at an annual rate.

After growing from $ 1.403 million to $ 1.519 million from 2018 to 2019, Canada’s chocolate exports to its southern neighbor climbed to $ 1.548 million.

Other prominent suppliers in the United States chocolate market in the period from January to August were: Mexico (327 million dollars) and Ivory Coast (160 million), with year-on-year falls of 9.7 and 12.7%, respectively.

Chocolate market

The chocolate production industry is moderately concentrated and the top four players (Hershey, Mars, Ferrero and Lindt) account for 60.6% of the market share in 2019, according to IBIS World.

The industry has been consolidated in the last five years through acquisitions.

In the last five years, producers in the industry have experienced stable competition from foreign chocolate producers.

While brand recognition is important in this industry, since many brands have been on the market for decades, chocolate producers compete based on the quality of their products, determined by taste, quality of ingredients, and , more recently, the nutritional value.

According to Statista, chocolate and confectionery consumption in the United States is expected to continue its upward trend (from $ 139.9 billion in 2019 to $ 165.2 billion by 2023), supported by population growth and increased purchasing power.