Publish Date: October 2026
Updated Tariff & Recession Risk Analysis and Forecasts
The 2026 Chocolate Making from Raw Cacao Market Report covers the $5.8 billion industry which has experienced significant evolution with the emergence of craft producers alongside established industrial manufacturers, creating a more diverse competitive landscape focused on origin-specific characteristics and production values. Consumer preferences have shifted notably toward premium single-origin offerings, higher cocoa percentages, and transparent sourcing stories that highlight ethical and environmental credentials. Manufacturers face complex operational challenges managing global cocoa bean sourcing networks, maintaining precise processing parameters, addressing supply chain sustainability concerns, and navigating tariff implications for both raw material imports and international market access. Successful companies are differentiating through specialized bean selection expertise, distinctive roasting and conching techniques creating signature flavor profiles, direct trade relationships with cocoa farmers, and transparent manufacturing practices that resonate with increasingly knowledgeable consumers in a category where production methodology, origin characteristics, and ethical considerations increasingly drive premium positioning and pricing power.
Chocolate Making from Raw Cacao Industry Description
Chocolate Making from Raw Cacao transforms cacao beans into chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and finished chocolate products through a complex multi-stage process. Companies in this industry operate facilities that roast, crack, winnow, grind, and refine cacao beans to develop flavors and textures distinctive to fine chocolate. Manufacturing processes include fermenting, drying, roasting, grinding cacao nibs, conching, tempering, and molding to create products with specific sensory characteristics. These businesses include both large industrial chocolate manufacturers supplying food producers with ingredient chocolate and smaller bean-to-bar craft chocolate makers creating premium finished products, with operations spanning the value chain from raw bean processing to finished chocolate confections for retail and wholesale markets.
NAICS Code: 311351
Number of Companies: 183
Number of Plants / Facilities: 200
Total Employees: 8,106
Market Size: $5.8 billion
TARIFF IMPACT (Summer 2025 – Download Report for Updated Analysis)
This report has in-depth analysis on the recent US tariff changes on material costs, quantifying import dependencies, tariff exposure rates, and key source countries for the chocolate making from raw cacao sector.
Estimated Tariff Cost: $250 million
Relative Tariff Impact: VERY HIGH
Chocolate Making from Raw Cacao Report Format
The 2026 U.S. Chocolate Making from Raw Cacao Market Report is 63 pages of deep insights into the trends, dynamics, and forecasts shaping the industry. Professionals leverage this market report to develop a deep understanding of the market for business strategy, planning, forecasting, benchmarking, industry analysis, valuations, identifying organizational inefficiencies, financial analysis, and more.
The report has over 100 industry statistical data sets with historicals (2017-2025), trend analysis, and forecasts for 2026 and the next 5 years. The report includes market size & growth, detailed breakdown on 26 expenses, extensive financial analysis, extensive forecasts, inventory trends & analysis, detailed breakdown of 31 balance sheet items, company segmentation analysis, competitive intensity analysis, material costs benchmarks, profitability analysis, state statistics, plant capacity analysis, organizational breakdown, inflation trend benchmarks, employee pay analysis, in-depth productivity analysis, and more.
Below are a few page images from the report and check out the table of contents for a complete overview.
Report Table of Contents
Evaluate the table of contents to appreciate why thousands of professionals, bankers, consultants, accountants, and other executives rely on Kentley Insights for data-rich industry insights.
The data source for the report is extensive annual expense, revenue, wage, operational, and economic surveys administered by federal and private institutions and filled out by a majority of companies in the chocolate making from raw cacao industry. Our forecasts take into account historical trends, industry dynamics, and our macroeconomic projections.
1-2 – Market Report Overview & Contents
3 – Market Overview
– Data Sources & Methodology
– Sector Definition & Examples
– Market Commentary
4 – Report Synopsis – Revenue & Growth
5 – Report Synopsis – Costs & Profitability
SECTION ONE
REVENUE & GROWTH
7 – Market Size Details
– Industry Revenues, Companies, & Facilities
– Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
8 – Growth Benchmarks
– Sales per Company and Plant
– Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
9 – Product Lines Revenue
10 – BCG Matrix – Income vs. Revenue Growth
11 – Total Industry Sales by Month & Year (2021-2025)
12 – Inventory Value by Month & Year (2021-2025)
13 – Months of Inventory (2021-2025)
14 – Sector Revenue by Segments
– Business Concentration, Size, & Structure
15 – Market Size by State
– Market Size and Rankings
16 – Market Size as a % of State GDP
17 – Sales as a % of State Manufacturing
18 – Market Segmentation by Business Size
19 – Market Segmentation by Business Size
– Business Size Segments – 1-4, 5-9, 10-20, 21-50, 51-100, 101-250, & 250+ employees
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
20 – Segmentation by Concentration (Top 50 Companies)
– Concentration Segments – Top 4, 5-8, 9-20, & 21-50 companies
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
21 – Market Share of Top 50 Companies
22 – Subsector Market Share of Top 50 Companies
23 – Segmentation by Business Structure
– Business Structure Segments – C-Corporations, S-Corporations, Partnerships, & Sole Proprietorships
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
24 – Revenue per Company by State
25 – Revenue per Company by Segments
26 – Revenue per Facility by State
27 – Revenue per Facility by Segment
28 – Subsector Market Size & Growth
29 – Subsector Sales per Company & Plant
30 – 5-Year Consolidation Analysis
31 – Employment Consolidation Analysis
32 – Subsector Consolidation Analysis
– Number of Companies & Facilities
33 – Subsector Consolidation Analysis
– Facilities & Employees per Company
COST, CAPITAL & FINANCIALS
35 – Profitability & Financial Ratio Analysis
Page 36 – Balance Sheet Metrics
– Assets and Liabilities indexed to industry revenue at 100
– 16 Current & Non-Current Assets Categories
– 15 Short-term, Long-term Liabilities, & Net Worth
37 – OPEX
– Industry OPEX Analysis
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
38 – OPEX by Company & Plant
– OPEX per Company & Plant
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
Page 39 – OPEX Detail
– 6 Employee Expense Categories
– 8 Cost of Material Categories
– 6 Buildings and Equipment Categories
– 8 Other Operating Expense Categories
-Inventory Breakdown: finished goods, work-in-progress, materials and supplies
40 – Production Material Costs & Tariff Analysis
– Top Production Material Costs Breakdown
– Industry & Material Tariff Analysis – % of costs, import %, tariff costs, source countries
41 – Producer Pricing Index
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
– Monthly PPI Figures for the Past 4 Years
42 – Plant Utilization & Hours
– Plant Utilization Rate
– Plant Operational Hours per Week
– 2022-2025 Historical Figures by Quarter
43 – Reasons for Non-Full Production
– 7 Categories Quarterly Survey Results for Past 2 Years
44 – Productivity & Employment
– Revenue per Employee
– Total Number of Employees
– Employees per Company
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
45 – Employee Productivity by Segments
46 – Employee Productivity by State
47 –Subsector Sales & Payroll per Employee
48 – Payroll
– Payroll per Employee, Company, & Plant
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
49 – Payroll per Company by Segments
50 – Payroll per Plant by Segments
51 – Payroll per Employee by Segments
52 – Payroll per Employee by State
53 – Employee Composition
– % of Employees for 27 Job Categories
54 – Job Categorization Pay Ranges
– Pay Bands – Bottom 10% & 25%, Mean, Top 25% & 10%
55 – Top 20 Jobs Breakdown
56 – Top 20 Jobs Pay
– Pay Bands
57 – Employees per Company by Segments
58 – Employees per Plant by Segments
59 – Facilities per Company by Segments
60 – Total Employment by State
61 – Population to Every Employee by State
62 – Employees per Facility by State
63 – Overview of Kentley Insights
Download a Sample Report
Below is a free sample report download. The 2026 Chocolate Making from Raw Cacao Market Report has the same layout and data sets as the sample report.
Product Lines, Materials, and Jobs Covered in Report
PRODUCT LINES
Other chocolate and cocoa products, made from cacao beans
Chocolate and chocolate-type confectionery products, made from cacao beans
Chocolate coatings, made from cacao beans
Chocolate and confectionery manufacturing from cacao beans, nsk, total
MATERIAL COST CATEGORIES
Chocolate confectionery products, including coatings; sweetened & unsweetened chocolate powder; and cocoa butter, liquor, and syrup
Cocoa beans
Materials, ingredients, containers, and supplies, nsk
Beet and cane sugar
Cost of all other materials and components, parts, containers, and supplies consumed
Fluid milk products and dairy product substitutes
Nuts and nutmeats, including peanuts
Fats and oils, all types
Paper and paperboard products
All basic organic and inorganic chemicals, excluding petrochemicals
Plastics products (including packaging, foam products, film, sheet, rod, tube, fabricated shapes, bottles, etc.)
INDUSTRY JOBS ANALYZED
Miscellaneous Food Processing Workers
Laborers and Material Movers, Hand
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Retail Salespersons
Miscellaneous Production Workers
Industrial Machinery Installation, Repair, and Maintenance Workers
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
Cashiers
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
Building Cleaning Workers
General and Operations Managers
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing
Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks
Crushing, Grinding, Polishing, Mixing, and Blending Workers
Stock Clerks and Order Fillers
Office Clerks, General
Chemical Processing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Customer Service Representatives
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