Canada

Overview

• Population: 38.5 million
• Market size: Total Canadian confectionery sales are C$4.8 billion (or US $3.8 billion).**
• Marketplace: 8.4% of total North American confectionery sales and 1.9% of global sales*
• How much confectionery does the average Canadian eat annually? Above average at 5.8 kilograms (or 12.8 U.S. pounds)*
• How much does the average Canadian spend on confectionery annually? C$96 (or US$75), well above the global average but below the North American averages*

Chocolate^**

• Across all retail channels, chocolate was the largest category with value sales of C$3.7 billion in 2021 (US $2.9 billion).
• Grocery retailers make up 83.1% of chocolate sales in Canada.
• E-commerce represents a growing share of sales, currently at 3.7%.
• Chocolate sales are expected to grow 2.0% in 2021, with seasonal confectionery expecting to be the top performer, up 5% to C$561 million.
• Continued growth is in the forecast with an anticipated annual growth rate of 4% to reach C$4.6 billion by 2026.
• Premium offerings with inclusions that are seen as healthful (nuts, fruits, etc) are also anticipated to grow in popularity.
• Chocolate sales saw a big boost during the pandemic. Initially, sales spiked due to its positioning as a treat to lift the mood and sales benefitted from gifting as restrictions started to ease.

The highest anticipated growth rates for the next five years are:

Non-Chocolate^**

• Across store-based and other sales, sugar confectionery (non-chocolate), is the second-largest seller, with value sales of C$689 million in 2021 (US $538 million).
• Year-to-date in 2021, sales have increased 1.2%, but volume is flat.
• Online sales are still very low, currently at 0.5%.
• Continued growth is in the forecast with an anticipated annual growth rate of 3% to reach C$805 million by 2026.
• Increased consumer mobility is expected to fuel mint sales.
• The highest five-year annual growth rate is expected for functional/medicated sugar confectionery at +6.9%

Grocery retailers make up 76.8% of non-chocolate sales in Canada.

76.8%