These are the 10 largest candy companies as ranked by total dollars of candy, chocolate, confectionery, and gum sales during 2021. Many of the companies on this list have revenue from other business segments as well, but such revenue was not considered for the purpose of generating this list.
#1 Mars ($21 Billion)
Mars, Incorporated generated nearly $45 billion in total sales in 2021, with about half of that coming from candy sales and about half coming from pet food and veterinary services. Mars is the fourth largest privately owned company in the U.S. as ranked by revenue, and its revenue also recently surpassed CocaCola (NYSE: KO) due Mars’ rapidly growing pet food & pet services business lines. In fact, more than half of the company’s employees (85,000 out of 140,000 total) now belong to its pet care arm.
The company’s pet food brands include Pedigree, Iams, Greenies, Whiskas, and others.
The company’s candy brands include M&M’s, Milky Way, Life Savers, 3 Musketeers, Skittles, Snickers, Starburst, Twix, and more.
| Company Name | Mars, Incorporated (parent company) Mars Wrigley (candy subsidiary) |
| Global Candy Sales | $21 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Mars, M&M’s, Snickers, Bounty, Milky Way, Twix, Skittles, 3 Musketeers, Wrigley’s gum, Life Savers, Starburst, Altoids, 5 gum, Kind bars |
| Headquarters | McLean, Virginia, USA |
| Year Founded | 1911 |
| Founder(s) | Franklin Mars |
| Ownership | Private (Mars family) |
| Website | mars.com |
#2 Ferrero ($14 Billion)
This Italian-based chocolate & candy company makes Tic Tacs, Laffy Taffy, Nerds, Nutella, Mon Cheri, Raffaello, and many other international candy and chocolate brands. Total 2021 revenue was approximately $14 billion. However, that number will likely fall significantly in 2022 since the Euro-USD exchange rate has fallen 15-20% from mid 2021 to mid 2022.
As of January 2022, the company employed approximately 39,000 people and operated 32 production plants across multiple countries.
| Company Name | Ferrero International S.A. Ferrero Group (subsidiary) Ferrara Candy Company (Chicago-based subsidiary) |
| Global Candy Sales | $14 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Tic Tac, Nutella, Nerds, Laffy Taffy, Butterfinger, Crunch, Red Hots, Kinder, Raffaello, Mon Cheri, Ferrero Kusschen |
| Headquarters | Alba, Piedmont, Italy |
| Year Founded | 1946 |
| Founder(s) | Pietro Ferrero Piera Cillario Giovanni Ferrero |
| Ownership | Private (Ferrero family) |
| Website | ferrero.com |
#3 Mondelez International ($12 Billion)
Mondelez International is a publicly traded, Chicago-based candy & snack company (NASDAQ: MDLZ) formed in 2012 as a spin-off of Kraft Foods. The company generated $28.7 billion in revenue in 2021, but only 42% of that ($12.1 billion) was from chocolate, gum, and candy sales.
| Company Name | Mondelez International, Inc. |
| Global Candy Sales | $12 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Sour Patch, Toblerone, Oreo, Chips Ahoy, Cadbury Chocolate |
| Headquarters | Deerfield, Illinois, USA |
| Year Founded | 2012 (Spin off of Kraft Foods) |
| Ownership | Publicly traded (NASDAQ: MDLZ) |
| Website | mondelezinternational.com Brands Investor Relations 2021 Annual Report |
#4 The Hershey Company ($8.2 Billion)
This Pennsylvania-based company doesn’t just own Hershey’s but also Kit Kat, Reese’s, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Almond Joy, and many other parts of your childhood. The company generated $8.97 billion in net sales during 2021 with about $8.2 billion from candy & confectionery sales.
| Company Name | The Hershey Company |
| Global Candy Sales | $8.2 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Twizzlers *Kit Kat (U.S. manufacturing rights licensed from Nestle) |
| Headquarters | Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Year Founded | 1894 |
| Founder(s) | Milton Hershey |
| Ownership | Publicly traded (NYSE: HSY) with Hershey Trust Company as a large (but still minority) shareholder |
| Website | Investor Relations 2021 Annual Report |
#5 Nestle ($8.2 Billion)
Nestle is a Swiss-based food, beverage, and pet food company whose candy brands include Kit Kat, Smarties, and the Brazilian chocolate brand Garoto.
The company generated $95.2 billion (CHF 87 billion) in total sales during 2021, including approximately $8.2 billion in confectionery sales.
Nestle alos has fast-growing coffee and pet care businesses.
| Company Name | Nestle S.A. |
| Global Candy Sales | $8.2 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | – Kit Kat – Smarties – Garoto (one of the largest chocolate companies in Brazil) – Baci chocolates |
| Headquarters | Vevey, Switzerland |
| Year Founded | 1866 |
| Founder(s) | Henri Nestle |
| Ownership | Publicly traded |
| Website | Investor Relations 2021 Annual Report |
#6 Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli ($5 Billion)
Lindt & Sprungli is a Swiss chocolate and candy company that owns the Ghirardelli and Russell Stover brands and generated $5.0 billion in total sales.
| Geographic Market | Total Sales |
| North America | $1.85 Billion |
| Europe | $2.55 Billion |
| Rest of the World | $622 Million |
| Total | $5.0 Billion |
| Company Name | Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli AG |
| Global Candy Sales | $5 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Ghirardelli, Russell Stover, Lindor Truffles, Lindt, Caffarel |
| Headquarters | Kilchberg, Switzerland |
| Year Founded | 1845 |
| Founder(s) | Rodolphe Lindt |
| Ownership | Publicly traded (LISN: SW) |
| Website | Investor Relations 2021 Annual Report |
#7 Yildiz Holding ($4 Billion)
Yildiz is a Turkish conglomerate that owns food and beverage subsidiaries as well as a venture capital firm, a vehicle leasing company, and a real estate company. The company’s subsidiaries include Pladis, Ulker, Godiva Chocolatier, Kerevitas, United Biscuits, and many other food companies. Total candy & confectionery sales were approximately $4 billion in 2021.
| Company Name | Yildiz Holding A.S. |
| Global Candy Sales | $4 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Godiva chocolates |
| Headquarters | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Year Founded | 1944 |
| Founder(s) | Sabri Ulker |
| Ownership | Private (but Yildiz partially owns 7 publicly traded subsidiaries) |
| Website | Major Subsidiaries Ulker (subsidiary) Annual Reports |
#8 Haribo GmbH & Co. KG ($3 Billion)
Haribo is a German-based candy company most well known for making gummy bears, other gummy candies, and marshmallows.
| Company Name | Haribo GmbH & Co. KG |
| Global Candy Sales | $3 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Gold Bears |
| Headquarters | Grafschaft, Rhineland, Germany |
| Year Founded | 1920 |
| Founder(s) | Hans Riegel, Sr. |
| Ownership | Private (Riegel family) |
| Website | haribo.com |
NOTE: Very little reliable information is available about the true revenue of Haribo. This article implies that Haribo does at least $350 million in gummy sales in the U.S. Wikipedia claims Haribo’s annual revenue is €1.7–2.0 billion (about $2.0-$2.36 billion) but does not provide a reliable source. Statista estimates 2021 net sales of $3.3 billion but also does not provide a very satisfying source. This article estimates sales at $3.6 billion but again does not provide a solid source and has provably incorrect information about certain other companies like Meiji which have publicly available financial statements that contradict the article.
#9 Perfetti Van Melle ($2.9 Billion)
This Dutch-Italian multinational conglomerate was formed in 2001 through the merger of the Perfetti and Van Melle companies. The conglomerate produces confectionery and gum products in 31 manufacturing facilities, employs over 17,000 people, and distributes its products in over 150 countries. Net sales in 2021 were 2.472 billion Euros (approximately 2.92 billion US dollars using the 2021 average exchange rate of 1.18 USD per Euro).
| Company Name | Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V. |
| Global Candy Sales | $2.9 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Mentos, Chupa Chups, Alpenliebe |
| Headquarters | Netherlands |
| Year Founded | 2001 (via the merger of Perfetti of Italy and Van Melle of the Netherlands) Van Melle was founded in 1900 (by converting a family-owned bakery founded 60 years earlier) Perfetti was founded in 1946 |
| Founder(s) | Izaak Van Melle Ambrogio Perfetti Egidio Perfetti |
| Ownership | Brothers Augusto and Giorgio Perfetti |
| Website | perfettivanmelle.com |
#10 Meiji ($2 Billion)
Meiji is a Japanese food and pharmaceutical conglomerate. During fiscal year 2021, the company’s food segment generated JPY 826 billion (~$7.3 billion using the average USD-JPY exchange rate from December 2021). Of that, about a quarter (roughly 2 billion USD) is from chocolate and candy sales.
| Company Name | Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd. |
| Global Candy Sales | $2 Billion |
| Famous Candy Brands | Meiji, Meltykiss, XYLISH, Fran |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Year Founded | 2009 (from merger of |
| Ownership | Publicly traded |
| Website | meiji.com Investor Fact Sheet |