For the sweet tooth🍬

We have heard a lot about how wine consumption has increased in 2020, but what about the sweets market? Despite a very socially distanced and toned-down Halloween celebration, the National Confectioners Association reports that Halloween candy sales saw double-digit growth. And, overall candy, chocolate, and non-chocolate sweets sales have also seen positive increases, and online confectionery sales have doubled between March to September 2020. It seems like our quarantine self has let loose on indulgences. 

But if you still want to indulge yourself, here's our selection of high-growth confectionary companies.

• Astor Chocolate is a chocolate and candy manufacturing company founded in 1950 from Lakewood, New Jersey. Although affected by the pandemic and having to shut down manufacturing operations as a non-essential business, the company has organically grown over the years as a premium chocolate manufacturer.
• Wana Brands is not the typical confectionary company. As we have written about before, the company is a leader in cannabis-infused gummy edibles. The company was founded in 2010 in Boulder, Colorado.
• Sconza Candy is a third-generation family-run chocolate company founded in 1945. It is well-known for its chocolate-coated nuts selection and has organically grown since its establishment. 
• Sunrise Confections from El Paso, Texas manufactures various non-chocolate snacks under the Sunrise brand and was founded in 2001. It has grown to become a billion-dollar company through organic growth. 
• Promotion in Motion was founded in 1979 from Allendale, New Jersey, and owns many popular snack brands such as Welch’s fruit snacks, Sour Jacks, as well as Sun-Maid raises. 
• Mars is the largest private global manufacturer of confectionery, amongst other things including pet food. Aside from the familiar M&Ms and Snickers, Mars is making a bet into the shift to healthier snack options with its purchase of KIND in November this year.