Global Candy Market Size, Share, Opportunities, And Trends By Type (Chocolate Candy, Non-Chocolate Candy), By Distribution Channel (Hypermarkets And Supermarkets, Convenience Stores, Online Retail, Specialty Stores, Others), And By Geography - Forecasts From 2024 To 2029

Candy is a type of sugar confectionery product that is commonly produced in small pieces or bars that are mainly made from sugar or syrup, with the addition of flavouring, fruit, chocolate, nuts, and many others. Several Candy products exist in the global market, which include chocolate bars, chewing gum, sugar candy, and many others.

Introduction:

The global candy market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecasted period of 2024-2029 due to several factors, such as the increasing growth of sugar consumption and technological advancements.

Market Drivers:

• Increasing growth of sugar consumption: Candy has always been linked with sugar, due to sugar being one of the core ingredients in several candy products. The increase in the consumption of sugar provides the necessary boost for the global candy market growth during the forecasted period. The OECD iLibrary indicates the increase in total consumption per capita of sugar, accounting for an average estimate of 169,838kt in 2019-20 and is expected to display an increase in growth to reach 187,758kt by 2031, which is a growth from 0.65% to 0.91% respectively. This increase in growth of sugar consumption can be linked to the growth of the production of candy products, which contributes to the largest sugar product consumption worldwide. The increase in consumption of candy products can also be linked to the increase in the young population of the world. The OECD Data indicated the total young population compared to the total global population of the world, which accounts for 25.26% of the total global population. The relevance of the young population drives the candy market growth during the forecasted period, due to the increase in consumption of candy from the younger generation. The National Institute of Health surveyed the consumption of candy and the per capita intake of candy among Americans, from which it was discovered that children aged 2 years to 18 years displayed the highest rate of consumption, which accounted for 11.9% of the total candy consumption. This relevance to the consumption of candy among the youth drives the global candy market growth, along with the increase in consumption of sugar worldwide during the forecasted period.
• Technological advancements: Candy is known to be one of the most consumed products in the food and beverages industry, due to several factors such as convenience, accessibility, taste and preferences of consumers, and cultural events such as Valentine's Day, Halloween, and many others. Cultural events such as Valentine's Day and Halloween encourage the exchanging of sweets and candy among one another. As time passed, the increasing relevance of such events grew in scale, driving the growth of sales and consumption of candy products throughout the world. As the sales of candy grew, companies and institutions were innovating and developing new technologies for the production and improvement of candy and sweet snacks throughout the world. The American Chemical Society states different recent advances in candy and sweet snack research that have occurred until January 2023, which includes the Valorization of Sweet Cherries using different drying methods for obtaining a healthy dried product, which focused on the research on the best drying methods of sweet cherries that are commonly used in several candy products, insights into the multiscale lubrication mechanism of edible phase change materials, which focused on the research of silky smooth way a piece of chocolate melts in the mouth, effects of different syrup types on Turkish delights, which focused on the research of Turkish candy delights and their properties, and many others. Therefore, the increase in development and research drives the global candy market growth during the forecasted period of 2024-2029.

Key Players:

• Mondelez International: A global leader known for the production, manufacturing, and distribution of snacks, cookies, crackers, candy, chocolate, cheese, and several other products.
• Nestle: A global Swiss corporation known for owning several well-known brands such as KitKat, Crunch Bars, Smarties, Quality Street, Passions, and many others, all of which are well-known in the category of chocolate and candy production.

Regional Analysis:

The North American region is expected to witness significant growth in the candy market during the forecasted period of 2024-2029, due to factors such as the increasing young population, who are one of the leading consumers of snack and candy commodities. In the North American region, the consumption of candy is increasingly relevant due to the increasing youth population. The candy retail sales also increase due to cultural festivals that are celebrated by millions of children in the region. One of the largely celebrated festivals in the United States is Halloween, where children are encouraged to dress up in different characters and enjoy trick or treating from house to house. The trick-or-treat trend is where people travel from house to house and the house owners provide candy to those dressed in costumes, celebrating the Halloween festival. Due to such a cultural relevance in the North American region, the boom in sales of candy products is expected to be substantially high. The Public Health Maps states that the overall Halloween spendings, which include candy, costumes, decorations and many others, was predicted to increase to an estimated US$10.6 billion and above in 2022, which is an increase of 5% from 2021. The top candies that displayed significant growth in sales during the 2022 period included Reese’s Cups, Hershey’s Kisses, Skittles, Snickers, M&Ms, Starburst, Sour Patch Kids, and many others. The increase in the consumption of candy can be also linked to the increase in the young population of the region during the period, who are the majority of the participants in the Halloween festival. Following North America, the Asia Pacific is also expected to witness a significant increase in growth during the forecasted period. The factor affecting the Asia Pacific region is the increasing youth population, who are one of the major consumers of candy products. The OECD data indicated that India and China have the highest percentage of young people in the total population of the countries, which accounts for an estimated 25.3% and 17.2% of the total population in 2022, respectively. The presence of the youth population, coupled with the increase in demand for convenience and ready-to-eat foods, drive the candy market growth during the forecasted period. 

Market Developments:

• October 2023: Apax Funds announced the acquisition of Bazooka Candy brands, which is known for being a leader in chocolate confectionery brands.  This acquisition allows Apax Funds to make use of the success of Bazooka Candy Brand’s success to penetrate the global chocolate confectionery and candy market. This acquisition helped the team focus on distribution growth, product innovation, geographic expansion, and the strategic acquisition of brands in complementary categories.
• October 2023: World of Sweets announced the launch of their sour brand range dubbed Zed Candy Screamers, which consists of their new innovative Shake & Spray and two other launches. The product range consists of two flavours, which include Blue Razz and Purple Razz.

Segmentation:

• By Type:
  • Chocolate Candy
  • Non-Chocolate Candy
• By Distribution Channel:
  • Hypermarkets and Supermarkets
  • Convenience Stores
  • Online Retail
  • Specialty Stores
  • Others
• By Geography:
  • North America
    • United States
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Others
  • Europe
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Others
  • Middle East and Africa
    • Saudi Arabia
    • UAE
    • Others
  • Asia Pacific
    • Japan
    • China
    • India
    • South Korea
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Indonesia
    • Others