Cocoa Prices Fall As US Confectionery Markets Soften

Update: Nestlé has agreed to sell its US confectionary business to Ferrero for $2.8 billion.

US consumers losing their sweet tooth has led to flattening sales growth for giants like Nestlé S.A. and Lindt & Sprüngli AG. A rise in “healthier” products and gourmet chocolate confectioneries marketed as organic, dark, or all-natural have increasingly squeezed chocolate sales in the US. Lindt’s North American sales growth in 2017 was the smallest in eight years while Nestlé prepares for a sale of its US confectionery business. With Hershey and Ferrero SpA competing to buy its chocolate business, Nestlé can now focus on the coffee and pet food categories. As the US market continues to change, Gro Intelligence provides price and commodity-specific analysis to keep you ahead of market trends.