Swiss candy sales not so sweet

The Covid-19 pandemic has left a bitter taste in the Swiss candy sector. Sales last year dropped by 12% to CHF321 million ($345 million), announced umbrella association Biscosuisse on Monday.

The slump in industry sales was more than double the volume produced, which fell by around 4.9% to about 35,000 tonnes.

Chewing gum and marzipan makers suffered particularly badly. In this product group, the drop in sales was one fifth, followed by soft sweets (-9.6%) and hard candy (-6.0%). However, gum and marzipan was still by far the most popular, accounting for a good two-thirds of total production in 2020. Meanwhile, Biscosuisse reported a positive sales trend for jelly candies and dragées.

Confectionery used to make health products, such as throat lozenges, had a good year. Sales of those registered with the Swiss medicine authority Swissmedic went up by 2% in 2020.

By destination, sales fell by 9.9% within Switzerland and by 13.9% abroad. The United States, with a market share of 30.4%, Germany (21.8%) and France (9.8%) are the main export markets for Swiss confectioners.

Biscosuisse unites, among others, the industrial Swiss manufacturers of sugar confectionery. According to its data, Switzerland’s 13 candy companies employed 938 people last year.