Confectionery industry

Use our industry guide to find key background information, market research, import and export guidelines, statistics, legislation, trade bodies and trade publications.

The Business & Industry Guides series is produced by the Library & Information Service for ICAEW members and ACA students.

We can compile tailored key players reports, mailing lists, market reports, benchmarking reports and industry news. Our enquiry team can also research other industry-specific information, such as taxation, for you. Call us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

Trends and forecasts

Online articles

The library provides full access to articles from leading business, finance and management journals.

View the latest updates on trends and forecasts in the confectionery industry

Access to articles is provided subject to suppliers’ terms of use.

Useful links

Vulnerabilities of Supply Chains Post-Brexit
Study by LSE Consulting, commissioned by Arla Foods, on the vulnerability of the UK and EU food industry supply chains when the Brexit transition period ends. Considers a range of potential disruptors with the impact on trade, prices, product availability and labour estimated for both no-deal and Free Trade Agreement scenarios. Published in September 2020.

Market research

Market research reports focusing on this business sector are available from a number of market research specialists. In most cases these reports are available to fee-paying subscribers or on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Industry profiles and SWOT analyses

Industry profiles give an overview of market size in different countries or regions, the competitive landscape and provide a forecast of market performance. These profiles are available for ICAEW members and ACA students through the Library & Information Service.

Regional reports

Africa

South Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

North America

Oceania

Australia

If you’re looking for industry profiles for regions or countries not listed above, please contact the Library on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

SWOT analyses examining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for major companies operating in this sector are available.

View the latest SWOT analysis reports

If you experience any problems accessing these resources, please see our online resources troubleshooting FAQ.

Other market research specialists

Some free information is available from the following market research specialists, ranging from industry news to executive summaries of the reports.

Euromonitor
A full listing of reference products and research reports for the confectionery industry from Euromonitor, with a range of global, country and company level reports. Each report provides a contents listing and a useful executive summary reporting on the key trends in each country report.

IBISWorld
Business and industry research specialists offering reports on a wide range of sectors, including chocolate and confectionery production and confectionery wholesaling. Report snapshots, table of contents and a sample report are available. The company also produces global industry research reports.

Mintel
Publisher of a series of reports covering the confectionery industries. The website includes a short summary and the option to view a contents listing for each report.

Industry news

Need to find the latest news on this industry sector? We can carry out industry news searches using a range of trade titles and general business sources through our databases. To discuss your requirements, please contact the enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com.

Statistics on the UK

The Annual Business Survey (ABS) from the Office for National Statistics collects financial information covering UK production, construction, distribution and service industries. Statistics available include:

number of enterprises;
total turnover;
approximate gross value added at basic prices;
total purchases of goods, materials and services;
total employment costs;
total net capital expenditure;
total net capital expenditure – acquisitions;
total net capital expenditure – disposals;
total stocks and work in progress – value at end of year;
total stocks and work in progress – value at beginning of year;
total stocks and work in progress – increase during year.

The dataset Non-financial business economy, UK: Sections A to S includes statistics for:

Manufacture of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery (10.82)
See Section C: Manufacturing
Wholesale of sugar and chocolate and sugar confectionery (46.36)
See Division 46: Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery in specialised stores (47.24)
See Division 47: Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Statistics on Europe

Bundesverband der Deutschen Süßwarenindustrie (BDSI)

The BDSI publishes facts and figures on the confectionery industry in Germany:

Figures are available in English and German.

Chocosuisse

Switzerland's Chocosuisse offers facts and figures covering:

Sales by the Swiss chocolate industry (Domestic and export)
The most important export markets
Relationship between domestic sales and exports
Chocolate imports
Turnover of the Swiss chocolate industry
Average import prices of the most important raw materials (unpaid duties)
Per capita consumption
Employment in the Swiss chocolate industry
Developments in the average retail price
Worldwide grinding of cocoa beans
Cocoa harvest

European Cocoa Association

The European Cocoa Association compile quarterly grind stats showing total bean usage by European companies.

Eurostat

Eurostat, the EU statistics hub, collates detailed Structural Business Statistics giving the latest figures for industry, construction, trade and services by sector and country. The indicators available include:

number of enterprises
turnover or gross premiums written
production value
value added at factor cost
gross operating surplus
wages and salaries
social security costs
gross investment in tangible goods
gross investment in land
gross investment in existing buildings and structures
gross investment in construction and alteration of buildings
gross investment in machinery and equipment
number of employees
number of persons employed per enterprise.

Statistics within the database are available for:

Manufacture of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery (C1082)
See database section ‘SBS – industry and construction’
Wholesale of sugar and chocolate and sugar confectionery (G4636)
See database section ‘SBS – trade’
Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery in specialised stores (G4724)
See database section ‘SBS – trade’

Statistics on the Americas

Associação Brasileira Da Indústria De Chocolates, Cacau, Amendoim, Balas E Derivados (ABICAB)

The ABICAB provide statistics in English and Portuguese showing data on evident consumption and production for chocolate, peanuts and sugar confectionery domestically and worldwide.

Asociación Nacional de Exportadores de Cacao

The Asociación Nacional de Exportadores de Cacao of Ecuador provides annual and monthly statistics on cocoa exports.

National Confectioners Association (US)

The National Confectioners Association provides data and insights including an overview of the US confectionery industry and quarterly cocoa grinds reports.

Global statistics

International Cocoa Organization

The International Cocoa Organization produces a range of statistics covering:

National Confectioners Association (US)

The National Confectioners Association offers a comprehensive International TradeStatistic and Regulation Database covering:

Import/export trade statistics
Monthly and annual export statistics

INDSTAT

The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) collects and compiles industrial statistics known as INDSTAT, which give information on:

number of employees
number of establishments
output
value added
total wages and salaries.

Statistics by country are available for:

Cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery (1543)

UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (Comtrade)

The UN compiles and publishes international import and export statistics in the Commodity Trade Statistics Database (Comtrade), giving figures for goods traded by value, quantity and weight for each country.

Statistics are available for:

Sugars and sugar confectionery (17)
Cocoa and cocoa preparations (18)

UN Industrial Commodity Statistics Database

The UN provides statistics on the quantity of goods produced by country in the Industrial Commodity Statistics Database.

Figures are available for:

Chocolate and chocolate products (23)
Sugar confectionery not containing cocoa (23)

Employment

The annual Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), published by the Office for National Statistics, includes total employee and employment estimates for different industries for Great Britain and the UK. Figures are broken down to show full-time/part-time and public/private splits. The dataset Industry – Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Table 2 includes statistics for:

Manufacture of cocoa and chocolate confectionery (10821)
Manufacture of sugar confectionery (10822)
Wholesale of sugar and chocolate and sugar confectionery (46360)
Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery in specialised stores (47240)

The Office for National Statistics publication Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) includes average employment costs within this sector which can be found in Table 14. Average employment costs are provided for full-time employees, part-time employees and all employees.

The data includes average employment costs for bakers and flour confectioners.

Other regions

Please see individual country profile pages for links to sources of national statistics.

Legislation and regulation

UK

Gov.uk provides information and guidance on food, catering and retail businesses, including advice on:

The Food Standards Agency produces guidance on Running a food business. Covers a range of areas including setting up a food business, food hygiene and safety, imports and exports, general food law and operational and chemical safety.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a section on health and safety in food manufacturing, which includes latest regulations affecting this industry.

The guidance Food and drink businesses: working with the EU has been published by Gov.uk. Areas covered include food labelling, importing and exporting, marketing standards, non-harmonised food products, employees and data protection.

Other regions

The US National Confectioners Association offers a comprehensive InternationalTrade Statistic and Regulation Database covering:

Tariffs and taxes
Standards of identity
Content restrictions
Packaging and labelling requirements
Documentation requirements
Trademark laws
Other import requirements
In-country contacts and resources

Import and export

Trade Tariff

The Trade Tariff is a useful Gov.uk database listing tax, duties and licenses for the import and export of goods between the UK and other countries. The database is searchable by product or commodity code and results can be filtered by date and country. Information also includes links to relevant conditions and regulations.

See import and export information for:

UK business guides

Croner-i Business Focus

Business Focus is a resource that provides practical information on many small business trades and sectors. Its Business Opportunity Profiles offer detailed insights into market conditions, legal issues and the trading environment for a range of businesses. They include:

Chocolatier
Sweet shop

To find out more about Business Focus, please contact our enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com.

Tactical and Information Packages

HMRC published a series of Tactical and Information Packages (TIPs), replacing Business Economic Notes in 2007, offering guidance to HMRC officers to support compliance activity in the department. The TIPs provide trade-based information with some explanation of key features and trading practices. However, they were subsequently removed from the HMRC website following a policy change.

The text of TIP 14 on Confectioners, Tobacconists and Newsagents (CTNs) as published at this time is still available from the article Tactical Information Packages (TIPS) on the AccountingWeb website, however this should be treated with caution as this may no longer be the current version.

UK key players, ratios and trends

We can produce reports on this sector using selected information from the FAME company database. Reports are available for:

Manufacture of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery
UK SIC (2007) Code 10.82
Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery
UK SIC (2007) Code 47.24

Summaries of the three types of report we can produce are given below. You can find further information, a sample report, pricing details and an online order form on our industry sector reports page.

We also operate a bespoke reports service with results tailored to your specifications. Please contact our enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com to discuss your requirements.

Key players report

Our key players report looks at the top companies (by turnover) in any one of the segments within this sector. Reports usually include the top 100 companies but in more specialised sectors with fewer than 100 companies we show all companies with disclosed figures. The reports provide data on 11 comparative fields for the last available year, including:

turnover;
profit margins;
returns on shareholder funds;
solvency ratios
number of employees.

Our reports enable easy comparison of the top companies in this sector against each other and against the sector median, average and standard deviation in each of the 11 fields.

Mailing list

A separate mailing list report is also available with address and contact details for the top companies in any of the segments within this sector.

Market reports

Our market reports look at the aggregated data for the top companies (by turnover) for any of the segments within this sector across all the fields usually found in a company report. The reports include data for the last 10 years* and enables easy comparison of trends for the whole sector. Reports usually include the top 100 companies but in more specialised sectors with fewer than 100 companies we show all companies with disclosed figures.

*Please note the number of companies for which data is aggregated will vary for any given year.

The market reports include sections on:

key financials and employees;
profit and loss account;
balance sheet;
cash flow statement;
financial ratios;
financial trends and changes;
profitability trends and changes.

UK benchmarking

We offer benchmarking reports that can be used to inform your own business strategy or help you identify value-added services to offer to your clients.

Contact the enquiry team directly on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com for a report tailored to your own specific requirements.

Trade bodies

The websites of trade bodies in this sector are a useful source of industry overviews, contacts and statistics.

UK

Europe

Associazione Industrie Dolciarie Italiane
Bundesverband der Deutschen Süßwarenindustrie
CAOBISCO
Chocosuisse
Choprabisco (Royal Belgian Association of the Biscuit, Chocolate, Pralines and Confectionary)
European Cocoa Association
Vereniging voor de Bakkerij- en Zoetwarenindustrie (Netherlands)

Africa

Comité de Gestion de la Filière Café Cacao (Côte d'Ivoire)
Ghana Cocoa Board

Americas

Asia

Global

Trade journals and publications

Trade journals, B2B magazines and specialist consumer magazines are another useful source of news and statistics.