Crunching the Numbers: Chocolate Statistics

Cookbook

Crunching the Numbers

How many people are passionate about chocolate? The statistics speak for themselves.

The average American consumes 11.7 pounds of chocolate per year. Americans have, on average, increased their chocolate consumption by two pounds over a 13-year span.
3.1 billion pounds of chocolate are purchased per year in the United States. The manufacturer value of that 3.1 billion pounds of chocolate is $7.6 billion.
$11.6 billion is spent by Americans on chocolate products every year. Approximately $600 million of that amount is spent in February, for Valentine's Day.
The percentage of Americans who expressed a preference for milk over dark and white chocolates: 73%.

Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce and Chocolate Manufacturers Association of America.

Chocolate Passion:
Recipes and Inspiration from
the Kitchens of Chocolatier Magazine
By Tish Boyle and Tim Moriarty
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., November 1999
Cloth, $39.95
ISBN: 0-471-29317-2
Reprinted by permission.