This chart shows the sales of the leading chocolate confectionery brands sold in boxes, bags, or bars over 100 grams in value in the United States in 2015/2016, in millions of U.S. dollars. The best-selling brand during this period was M&M's with revenue exceeding million U.S. dollars.
The U.S. Chocolate Confectionery Market - Additional Information
In 2020, the global population was expected to consume more than million tons of chocolate. However, the familiar form of this popular dessert was not created until the late or early century, when the industrial revolution significantly changed cocoa processing. Some of the visionary chocolate producers of that era, such as Milton S. Hershey, Henri Nestlé, and the Cadbury brothers, are still renowned today.
Total chocolate sales in the United States in 2017 are estimated at approximately billion U.S. dollars, and this country was projected to become the largest global chocolate consumer by 2020. Chocolate products packaged in bags and boxes weighing about 100 grams are by far the most popular types of chocolate products in the United States. The country's leading chocolate manufacturer is Hershey's, with a market share exceeding percent, followed by Mars/Wrigley and Nestlé. Mars does not hold the top spot in this ranking but has the favorite chocolate confectionery product of Americans: M&M's. These colorful chocolate candies, shaped like pills, were born in the United States in 1941 and are offered in several varieties, such as: milk chocolate, white chocolate, mint chocolate, puffed rice, birthday cake, peanuts, coconut, cherry, or pumpkin.