Candy is big business.  While international giants such as Mars Inc., Nestlé, and Kraft dominate the industry, there is still room for smaller, regional players like South Africa’s Tiger Brands and China’s Hsu Fu Chi International, with each country having a No. 1 candymaker. Even though chocolate remains the most popular candy in the world, chewing gum is growing rapidly. As this article speculates, the reason behind gum’s growth is due to tougher anti-smoking campaigns and aggressive pushes by manufacturers into new markets.

Questions:

1.  What is the number one best-selling candy and how much were its annual U.S. sales in 2007?   Which country eats the most chocolate per capita?  How much is it and how does it compare with the U.S.?

 2.  Why can’t you find a 10-K for Mars Inc. on the Web?

3.  Based on the article, what percentage of the total candy market is accounted for by M & M’s?

 

Source:

Deprez, E. (2009) What are the World’s Most Popular Candies? BusinessWeek, June 24 (Retrievable online at http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2009/gb20090624_590587.htm#readerComments)

Deprez, E. (2009). The World’s Best Selling Candies (slide show), BusinessWeek, June 24 (Retrievable online at http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/06/0624_worlds_best_selling_candy/1.htm)