10 Candy Stocks to Sweeten Up Your Portfolio

Who doesn’t love a piece of candy?! Candy can sweeten up somebody’s day, as well as somebody’s portfolio. What’s even sweeter is that the global confectionery market size was valued at $298.23 billion USD in 2021 and is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 4.3% from 2022 to 2028. Thankfully for investors, the biggest candy companies in the world are publicly traded companies on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, ASX, NSE and beyond. Here’s an overview of ten candy stocks from around the world worth a further look:

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY)

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, meat snacks, bars and snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and protein bars. The company provides its products primarily under the Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Whoppers, York, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum, Lily’s, SkinnyPop, Pirates Booty, Paqui, Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, and ONE Bar brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, and Sofit brands. It markets and sells its products to wholesale distributors, chain grocery stores, mass merchandisers, chain drug stores, vending companies, wholesale clubs, convenience stores, dollar stores, concessionaires, and department stores. The company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ)

Mondelez International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells snack food and beverage products in the Latin America, North America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It provides biscuits, including cookies, crackers, and salted snacks; chocolates; and gums and candies, as well as various cheese and grocery, and powdered beverage products. The company’s snack brand portfolio includes Cadbury, Milka, and Toblerone chocolates; Oreo, belVita, and LU biscuits; Halls candies; Trident gums; and Tang powdered beverages. It serves supermarket chains, wholesalers, supercenters, club stores, mass merchandisers, distributors, convenience stores, gasoline stations, drug stores, value stores, and other retail food outlets through direct store delivery, company-owned and satellite warehouses, third party distributors, and other facilities, as well as through independent sales offices and agents, and e-commerce channels. The company was formerly known as Kraft Foods Inc. and changed its name to Mondelez International, Inc. in October 2012. Mondelez International, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ: RMCF)

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a confectionery franchisor, manufacturer, and retail operator. It operates through five segments: Franchising, Manufacturing, Retail Stores, U-Swirl Operations, and Other. The company produces approximately 400 chocolate candies and other confectionery products, including clusters, caramels, creams, toffees, mints, and truffles; and offers 15 varieties of caramel apples and other products that are prepared in individual stores, as well as provides ice cream, coffee, and other sundries. As of March 31, 2022, it operated two company-owned, 99 licensee-owned, and 159 franchised Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory stores operating in 37 states in South Korea, Panama, and the Philippines; three company-owned, and 63 franchised and licensed cafés located in 22 states and Qatar; and self-serve frozen yogurt cafés under the U-Swirl, Yogurtini, CherryBerry, Yogli Mogli Frozen Yogurt, Fuzzy Peach Frozen Yogurt, Let’s Yo!, and Aspen Leaf Yogurt brand names. The company has strategic alliance with Edible Arrangements, LLC and its affiliates to provide branded chocolate products. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Durango, Colorado.

Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (NYSE: TR)

Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in manufacture and sale of confectionery products in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It sells its products under the Tootsie Roll, Tootsie Pops, Child’s Play, Caramel Apple Pops, Charms, Blow-Pop, Charms Mini Pops, Cella’s, Dots, Junior Mints, Charleston Chew, Sugar Daddy, Sugar Babies, Andes, Fluffy Stuff, Dubble Bubble, Razzles, Cry Baby, NIK-L-NIP, and Tutsi Pop trademarks. The company sells its products directly to wholesale distributors of candy, food and groceries, supermarkets, variety stores, dollar stores, chain grocers, drug chains, discount chains, cooperative grocery associations, mass merchandisers, warehouse and membership club stores, vending machine operators, e-commerce merchants, the United States military, and fund-raising charitable organizations, as well as through food and grocery brokers. Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. was founded in 1896 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Nestlé S.A. (OTC: NSRGY)

Nestlé S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and beverage company. The company operates through Zone Europe, Middle East and North Africa; Zone Americas; and Zone Asia, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa segments. It offers baby foods under the Cerelac, Gerber, Nido, and NaturNes brands; bottled water under the Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, and S.Pellegrino brands; cereals under the Fitness, Nesquik, cheerios, and Lion Cereals brands; and chocolate and confectionery products under the KitKat, Nestle L’atelier, Nestle Toll House, Milkybar, Smarties, Quality Street, Aero, Garoto, Orion, and Cailler brands. The company also provides coffee products under the Nescafé, Nespresso, Nescafé Dolce Gusto, Starbucks Coffee At Home, and Blue Bottle Coffee brands; culinary, chilled, and frozen foods under the Maggi, Hot Pockets, Stouffer’s, Thomy, Jacks, TombStone, Herta, Buitoni, DiGiorno, and Lean Cuisine brands; dairy products under the Carnation, Nido, Coffee-Mate, and La Laitière brands; and drinks under the Nesquik, Nestea, Nescafé, and Milo brands. In addition, it offers food service products under the Milo, Nescafé, Maggi, Chef, Nestea, Stouffer’s, Chef-Mate, Sjora, Minor’s, and Lean Cuisine brand names; healthcare nutrition products under the Boost, Peptamen, Resource, Optifast, and Nutren Junior brands; ice cream products under the Dreyer’s, Mövenpick, Häagen-Dazs, Nestlé Ice Cream, and Extrême brands; and pet care products under the Purina, ONE, Alpo, Felix, Pro Plan, Cat Chow, Fancy Feast, Bakers, Friskies, Dog Chow, Beneful, and Gourmet brands. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland.

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG (SIX: LISN.SW)

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of chocolate products worldwide. The company sells its products under the Lindt, Ghirardelli, Russell Stover, Whitman’s, Caffarel, Hofbauer, Küfferle, and Pangburn’s brands. It serves customers through a network of distributors, as well as through approximately 500 own shops. Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG was founded in 1845 and is headquartered in Kilchberg, Switzerland.

Candy Club Holdings Limited (ASX: CLB.AX)

Candy Club Holdings Limited, a specialty market confectionery company, engages in the business-to-business, online, and business-to-customer candy wholesale business in the United States. The company offers sugar confectionery, chocolates, and gums. Candy Club Holdings Limited was founded in 2014 and is based in Culver City, California.

Lotte Confectionery Co., Ltd. (KSC: 280360.KS)

Lotte Confectionery Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells various confectionery products in South Korea and internationally. It offers chewing gums, chocolates, biscuits, ice-creams, pies, snacks, and candies. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

Crown Confectionery Co., Ltd. (KSC: 264900.KS)

Crown Confectionery Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells confectionery products in Korea. It offers biscuits, cakes, snacks, candies, and chocolates. The company offers its products primarily under the Heim, Couque D’Asse, Sando, Vic Pie, Jolly Pong, C: Corn-Chip, Shinzzang, and Mychew brands. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

Nestlé India Limited (NSE: NESTLEIND.NS)

Nestlé India Limited manufactures and sells food products in India. The company provides milk products and nutrition, including dairy whitener, condensed and UHT milk, yoghurt, maternal and infant formula, baby food, and health care nutrition products; prepared dishes and cooking aids, such as noodles, sauces, seasonings, pasta, and cereals; powdered and liquid beverages comprising instant coffee and tea, as well as ready to drink beverages; and confectionery products consisting of bars, tablets, and sugar confectionery products. It also exports its products internationally. The company was incorporated in 1959 and is headquartered in Gurugram, India.

Summary

This article provides a good starting point for anyone interested in learning more about investing in or trading candy and confectionary stocks including The Hershey Company, Mondelez International, Inc., Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., and other well known and less well known peers. By no means is this an exhaustive list of every single candy stock around the world. Be sure to check out our stock and securities databases to find more.