Looking back, 2024 included ups and downs, with many worried about the prices of cocoa heading into the new year.

The front-runner in terms of revenue on this year’s Global Top 100 list is again Mondelēz International, coming in at $36 billion in revenue.* A newcomer to this year’s list includes Tony’s Chocolonely, based in the Netherlands, with $248 million in earnings. Since 2020, the brand has nearly quadrupled its business in the U.S., and over the next year will be available in 20% more stores than the year prior thanks to new national retail partnerships with Walmart.

In personnel news, last January, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (RMCF) appointed Starlette B. Johnson as its interim CEO. Johnson had served on the RMCF board since March 2023. However, by June, Johnson was elected as board chair, and Jeff Geygan took her place as interim CEO; and by the time December rolled around, Johnson was replaced by the appointments of corporate leadership expert Melvin Keating and entrepreneur Al Harper.

In addition, Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG announced that Rolf Fallegger, member of the group management, decided to retire in March and would leave the Lindt & Sprüngli Group by the end of June. The board of directors appointed Ana Dominguez as his successor as of July 1.

The year also had some producer closings: in February, OCHO Candy ceased operations, its VP of Sales and Marketing Todd Kluger announced in a LinkedIn post. Among its accomplishments, the company sold over $100 million in organic and Fair Trade certified chocolate, had over 50 items in its product lineup, and had nationwide distribution in the U.S. and Australia.

"OCHO Candy 2010-2024. To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway from The Sun Also Rises, 'How did your company end?' 'Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly,'" Kluger lamented.

A Chicago staple, ingredient supplier Blommer Chocolate announced in March it would be closing its city factory on May 31, 2024, due to increasing building maintenance and repair costs. The building, which opened in 1939, was the original manufacturing plant for the company. More than 250 employees were laid off due to the closure, and many were not notified until the end of March. Assets of the shuttered chocolate plant were sold in June online.

Chicago was an unlucky city in which to make candy last year, it seemed, as Ferrara announced its decision to end manufacturing operations at its Jelly Belly plant in North Chicago. The brand decided to move its manufacturing into another facility, and the final day of plant production was October 11. Jelly Belly, formerly known as Goelitz Confectionery Co., had been making candy at the North Chicago location since 1913.

It was not all doom and gloom in the Midwest, however: in July, lollipop legend Dum-Dums celebrated its 100^th birthday. The brand’s parent company, Spangler Candy, invited its customers and the community to gather in front of the Spangler main entrance at its Bryan, OH plant, for a commemorative photo. The celebration also included free cupcakes, a tasting of 30 different Dum-Dums flavors, the Dum-Dums drum man and Bit-O-Honey bee, games, and more.

Companies also decided to refresh their brand identities last year: in late January, Mars announced an overhaul of its Orbit and Extra gum, as well as Freedent and Yida. It was the first shakeup in over 100 years, and the company’s new “Chew You Good” platform aimed to breathe new life into the legacy brands. And Hershey’s Jolly Rancher hard candy brand, known for its fruit flavors, decided to revitalize its packaging and visual identity in October. While the previous packaging served the brand well, it says, it reportedly didn't fully reflect the brand's vibrant spirit and innovative product portfolio.

Candy manufacturers opened new facilities last year, too: in March, Amos Sweets held an opening ceremony and conference for its new Guangdong, China facility. Guests traveled from far and wide to attend, including Bazooka CEO Tony Jacobs, Ferrara CEO Marco Capurso, and more. The "candy banquet party" spanned two days, with four sessions of activities, making it a significant event in the Chinese candy industry. In addition, the company’s leader, Amos Ma, was also honored with a spot in NCSA’s Candy Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Ferrero also celebrated the opening of its first chocolate processing facility in North America, and third globally. The 70,000 sq. ft. expansion to Ferrero's manufacturing campus in Bloomington, IL produces chocolate for some of Ferrero's brands including Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, Butterfinger, and Crunch. In addition, the company also invested in new capacity and capabilities for its Brantford, Ontario plant and added distribution centers in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona.

In terms of ingredients, this past year also saw the FDA cracking down on color additives, most notably the use of Red Dye No. 3 in food. Red Dye No. 3 can be found in candy, cakes and cupcakes, gum, cookies, frozen desserts, and frostings and icings. The dye reportedly is known to cause cancer in animals, and FDA decided to ban it in confections this past January 2025.

Looking at the confectionery market in 2024, U.S. consumers paid more for chocolate products as candy manufacturers raised prices in response to the soaring cost of cocoa. Ghana, the world's second-largest cocoa producer, decided to delay delivery of up to 350,000 tons of beans due to poor crops. 2024 was the third year of poor harvests in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, which, combined, account for 60% of global cocoa production.

According to a research brief from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, cocoa prices are nearly 65% higher than they were one year ago, although consumer demand has remained relatively strong. In addition, prices are likely to remain elevated in 2025, and additional price hikes for chocolate confections are likely.

“The cocoa issues come at a particularly challenging time for manufacturers, considering the increase in sugar prices they’ve been coping with over the past three years,” said Billy Roberts, senior food and beverage economist, CoBank. “While sugar prices have recently retreated, cocoa futures prices remain near record levels and show little sign of any significant movement. That could lead to a further erosion of chocolate volume sales and begin to impact dollar sales as well.”

However, the 2024 State of Treating report, published in March by the National Confectioners Association revealed that 90% of consumers mention chocolate when asked what they buy when they want to do something nice for themselves. The report also disclosed that confectionery sales hit $48 billion in 2023, a number largely driven by inflation, and projected that U.S. confectionery sales will reach $61 billion by 2028.

“Our new research shows that, even when faced with unpredictable environmental shifts and changes, consumers feel a strong connection to chocolate and candy—and they embrace classic favorites and innovative novelties with an emotional drive that keeps the category fresh and vibrant," says John Downs, president and CEO, National Confectioners Association. "Consumers seek out chocolate and candy to help enhance holiday seasons, family celebrations, and those important ‘treat yourself' moments.”

* includes non-confectionery brands