Candy – perhaps humanity’s greatest guilty pleasure. Candy isn’t exactly known as the healthiest food there is, but sometimes you simply cannot resist a taste of its sweetness. And as long as you consume in moderation, there is nothing wrong with the occasional candy snack in between a stressful day. After all, candy, in moderation, can reduce stress, increase happiness and even lower the risk for strokes and heart attacks. Studies even show that people who regularly consume candy live longer on average. The candy industry unsurprisingly is a billion-dollar industry. The following top 10 largest candy companies are the world’s biggest candy producers.
The 10 Largest Candy Companies in the World 2022
1. Mars
Mars is not only the name of a planet but also the name of the largest candy company in the world. Founded in 1911 by American Franklin Mars in Tacoma, Washington, Mars is still entirely owned by the Mars family. It is therefore currently the 6th largest privately-owned company in the United States. Mars today is based in McLean, Virginia. It is now far more than just a candy company with total revenue of around $37 billion in 2021. Almost half of its business now actually comes from pet food products (most notably through its ‘Pedigree’ brand).
But Mars, through its many brands, first and foremost sells candy. Candy worth around $20 billion worldwide in 2021 to be more precise. To the illustrious list of Mars’ brands belong such globally known candies like for example M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, Maltesers, Bounty, and of course Mars itself.
2. Ferrero
The history of Ferrero starts with Supercrema. A hazelnut-cocoa cream that now is globally known and loved as Nutella. The company was founded by the Italian Pietro Ferrero in 1946 in the small town of Alba, Piedmont, not far from Italy’s fourth-largest city Turin. The company is still based in Alba and is still entirely owned by the Ferrero family. But the company has evolved into a global candy mega-brand. Candy products like Raffaello, Mon Cheri, Ferrero Kusschen, and the already mentioned Nutella are loved and bought the world over.
Through its Kinder brand, Ferrero also sells popular brands like Kinder Surprise, Kinder Joy, or Kinder Bueno. Additionally, Ferrero also produces and sells the world-famous Tic Tacs, a mint-based candy providing fresh breath. All these brands make up Ferrero’s worldwide candy sales of $13.6 billion in 2021.
3. Mondelez International
Mondelez International comes third among the largest candy companies in the world. The company was formed in 2012 after American food corporation ‘Kraft Foods’ decided to split into two independent and publicly-traded companies: Kraft Foods for grocery products and Mondelez International for candy and snack products. Mondelez took over all of Kraft’s former candy brands and therefore quickly established itself among the largest candy producers in the world.
The company, based in Deerfield, Illinois, is known for buying popular candy brands from different countries and then integrating them into its corporate structures. Famous examples include the British Cadbury, the German Milka, or the Polish Prince Polo brands. But Mondelez also owns American brands such as, for example, Oreo. The company globally sold $11.5 billion worth of candy in 2021.
4. Meiji
Meiji is a Japanese company that was formed in 2009 after the merger of Meiji Saika and Meiji Dairies. Based in the Japanese capital of Tokyo, the united Meiji is now the fourth most popular candy producer in the world. It is also by far the largest candy producer in all of Asia. Meiji products are primarily known and popular in Asia and especially Japan. But this alone is enough to make Meiji the fourth largest candy company in the world with global candy sales of $11.3 billion in 2021.
5. The Hershey Company
The fifth-largest popular candy company in the world is also one of the oldest still active candy companies in the world. The Hershey Company is named after its founder Milton Hershey. Hershey not only founded a company but an entire company town where the Hershey Company is still based today: Hershey, Pennsylvania. While Hershey products aren’t as well known outside of North America, the company is the largest and most popular candy producer within the United States. This tradition-rich status and popularity within the USA drove candy sales of $8.2 billion for the American company in 2021.
6. Nestle
7. Yildiz Holding
8. Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli
9. Haribo
10. Ezaki Glico
The 10 Largest Candy Companies in the World 2022
(at a glance)
(as of February 2022)
| Top 10 Largest Candy Companies in the World: |
|---|
| 1. MARS Worldwide candy sales: $20.0 billion |
| 2. FERRERO Worldwide candy sales: $13.6 billion |
| 3. MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL Worldwide candy sales: $11.5 billion |
| 4. MEIJI Worldwide candy sales: $11.3 billion |
| 5. THE HERSHEY COMPANY Worldwide candy sales: $8.2 billion |
| 6. NESTLE Worldwide candy sales: $7.6 billion |
| 7. YILDIZ HOLDING Worldwide candy sales: $4.7 billion |
| 8. CHOCOLADEFABRIKEN LINDT & SPRUNGLI Worldwide candy sales: $4.3 billion |
| 9. HARIBO Worldwide candy sales: $3.6 billion |
| 10. EZAKI GLICO Worldwide candy sales: $3.3 billion |
Top 10 largest candy companies in the world by worldwide candy sales. Other non-candy segments a company may be involved in, are disregarded in the ranking.