Nils-Gerrit Wunsch
Research expert covering foods trends in North America, Europe, and the global food system
Confectionery worldwide - statistics & facts
The global confectionery market generates 586.2 billion U.S. dollars in revenue annually. Preserved pastry goods and cakes, so-called bakers confectionery, account for the largest share of the market, roughly a hundred billion U.S. dollars ahead of the second-largest category, chocolate confectionery. Sugar confectionery and ice cream comprise the rest of the overall market. Western Europe is the global hotspot for confectionery consumption, and a third of the global market revenue is generated there. North American consumers are also accounting for a significant share of 22 percent of the market, while the sizeable Asia Pacific region only accounts for about 14 percent.
Western Europe, and in particular leading confectionery exporter Germany, play an important role in the global confectionery market. While the United Kingdom and other countries have taken successful measures to reduce consumers' sugar intake, there is no sign of the overall global market for confectionery being negatively affected by such measures.
The flow of sweets
With just shy of 80 billion in revenue each, China and the United States lead the ranking of country markets. The United States is the leading importer of chocolate confectionery. Over four billion U.S. dollars of chocolate confectionery get imported annually. The country leads the UK and Germany when it comes to imports of chocolate. The UK and Germany import 3.1 and three billion U.S. dollars, respectively. The chief exporter of chocolate, however, is Germany, leading the export ranking with almost 6.3 billion U.S. dollars.A taste for sweets
Global consumption of confectionery food products reached 76.31 million metric tons. The largest share of this volume was made up of pastry goods and cakes. Ice cream comes in second with a consumption of 21.48 million metric tons. The population of Germany and the United Kingdom have a particular sweet tooth. In both countries 52 percent of consumers stated that they regularly eat candy and chocolate products. This puts both markets ahead of the U.S. market, where only 39 percent of consumers say the same and vastly ahead of the 27 percent consumers in China who do the same.Western Europe, and in particular leading confectionery exporter Germany, play an important role in the global confectionery market. While the United Kingdom and other countries have taken successful measures to reduce consumers' sugar intake, there is no sign of the overall global market for confectionery being negatively affected by such measures.
