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Mars Wrigley Confectionery, the Ferrero Group, and Mondelez Intl. are the top candy companies worldwide by retail sales, per Candy Industry Magazine.
While only a small share of those total sales are licensed, branded offerings remain a hot spot for growth. Plus, many of the companies that made it on to the list this year also license out their brands for consumer products (those sales are not included below).
According to TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey, retail sales of licensed food and beverage products grew 6.0% in 2017 to reach $12.12 billion.
See below for the top 25 candy companies by estimated net sales. Other notable entries on the list that didn’t make it into the top list include the PepsiCo Americas Foods division (No. 35), 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (No. 36), Tootsie Roll Industries (No. 41), Sunrise Confections div. of Mount Franklin Foods (No. 52), and Jelly Belly Candy Co. (No. 79).
Data Source: Candy Industry Magazine | ||||||
(Figures in Millions) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Company | Headquarters | Net Sales | |||
1 | Mars Wrigley Confectionery | Chicago, IL | $18,000 | |||
2 | Ferrero Group | Luxembourg, Italy | $12,390 | |||
3 | Mondelez Intl. | Deerfield, IL | $11,792 | |||
4 | Meiji Co. Ltd. | Tokyo, Japan | $9,662 | |||
5 | Hershey Co. | Hershey, PA | $7,779 | |||
6 | Nestle SA | Vevey, Switzerland | $6,135 | |||
7 | Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli AG | Kilchberg, Switzerland | $4,374 | |||
8 | Ezaki Glico Co. Ltd. | Osaka, Japan | $3,327 | |||
9 | Haribo GmbH & Co. K.G. | Bonn, Germany | $3,300 | |||
10 | Perfetti Van Melle Spa | Lainate, Italy & Breda, Netherlands | $3,086 | |||
11 | pladis | London, U.K. | $2,816 | |||
12 | General Mills | Minneapolis, MN | $2,100 | |||
13 | Kellogg Co. | Battle Creek, MI | $1,890 | |||
14 | August Storck KG | Berlin, Germany | $1,859 | |||
15 | Orion Corp. | Seoul, Korea | $1,718 | |||
16 | Arcor | Buenos Aires, Argentina | $1,200 | |||
17 | United Confectionary Manufacturers | Moscow, Russia | $1,169 | |||
18 | Bourbon Corp. | Niigata, Japan | $1,060 | |||
19 | Lotte Corp. | Seoul, Korea | $1,055 | |||
20 | Valeo Foods Group | Dublin, Ireland | $1,026 | |||
21 | Chocolat Frey AB | Buchs, Switerland | $1,025 | |||
22 | Morinaga & Co. Ltd. | Tokyo, Japan | $998 | |||
23 | Crown Confectionery Co. Ltd. | Seoul, Korea | $990 | |||
24 | Cemoi | Perpignan, France | $968 | |||
25 | Cacau Show | Itapevi, SP, Brazil | $909 |