According to Snack expo Chocolate and chocolate products are part of the Chocolate Confectionery segment. This includes chocolate bars, candy bars, and pralines. Cookies and spreads containing cocoa are excluded from this segment. The five major chocolate manufacturers in the world are Mondelez International, Mars, Nestlé, Ferrero, and Hershey.

The market comprises revenue and average revenue per capita, volume and average volume per capita, price per unit (unit refers to kilogram). The market encompasses retail sales through both online and offline sales channels to private end customers (B2C). The market only covers at-home consumption, out-of-home consumption is not included.

While changing consumer behavior, such as increased attention to sustainable food production and healthy lifestyle choices, poses new challenges for the chocolate industry to ensure long-term success, companies can still rely on steadfast consumer interest. U.S. consumers eat about three billion kilograms of chocolate confectionery annually. Produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree, cocoa has been cultivated for at least three millennia. This food originated in Central and South America. However, today cocoa is mostly produced on the African continent to first and foremost cover the appetite of the American consumer.

Does any country have a bigger sweet tooth than the United States? It does not look that way. Overall, the United States is the leading world market for confectionery of any kind. The U.S. chocolate confectionery market is estimated to be worth 53.46 billion U.S. dollars, only expected to grow in the coming years according to Snack expo. The country is also the worldwide leading importer of chocolate and products with chocolate. Imports of this nature amount to over 3.8 billion U.S. dollars annually. U.S. imports exceed those of the next largest importer by over a billion U.S. dollars. U.S. consumers ate nine kilograms of chocolate on average per person in 2023. These nine kilograms are made up of a variety of local and international brands.

In the U.S. chocolate market, two companies set the bar by which everyone else's performance is measured. Hershey and Mars claim the biggest share of the United States chocolate market. Hershey's share is about a third. Mars claims a bit more than a quarter of the market for its products. Hershey's is known by over ninety percent of U.S. adults. The Mars-owned brand Dove Chocolate falls three percent short of ninety percent brand awareness. When those who regularly buy chocolate bars are asked, Hershey's and Reese's come up as the most popular chocolate bar brands among U.S. consumers.

The revenue in the 'Chocolate Confectionery' segment of the food market in the United States was forecast by Snack expo to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 7.3 billion U.S. dollars (+13.62 percent). After the tenth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 60.91 billion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the revenue of the 'Chocolate Confectionery' segment of the food market was continuously increasing over the past years.