Who Are Cadbury's Main Competitors?

Cadbury is one of the most iconic confectionery brands in the world. The company, known for its Dairy Milk Bar, is now a part of Mondelez International. Kraft acquired Cadbury for $18.9 billion, combining two strong food companies before spinning off some of the international brands as Mondelez. Together with other Mondelez brands, Cadbury is part of the company that has the leading global market share for chocolates.

Mondelez International had strong market share positions in 2014. Its number one overall global market position was supported by strong number one market share in the Asia-Pacific region, Middle East/Africa region and European region. In Latin America, Mondelez ranked second for 2014. The company's lowest market share came in North America, coming in at number five. The company faces strong competition from many companies in North America and around the world.

Mars is a recognizable name, but as a private company, it hasn't been one investors can get behind. In 2014, Mars had a market share of 29.5% in the United States for the chocolate market. Some of its best-known brands are M&M's, Snickers, Starburst, Twix and Skittles.

Mars was the seventh-largest private company in America in 2014, with sales of $33 billion. The company competes in six segments: chocolate, pet care, food, Wrigley’s (gum), drinks and symbioscience.

Along with competing against Mars for the chocolate market share, Cadbury now competes against the giant for share in the global gum market thanks to Mars' acquisition of Wrigley's in 2008. Mars' $23 billion acquisition gave it control of brands such as Extra, Orbit and Eclipse, which helped produce sales of $5.4 billion prior to the sale. Cadbury has gum brands that include Dentyne, Stride and Trident. Both companies have strong market share in a gum market that has seen sales decline.

In 2014, Hershey's had a market share of 44% in the U.S. for the chocolate industry. The company has many well-known brands in the U.S., including Hershey's, Reese's, Jolly Rancher and Twizzlers. Hershey's still gets more than 80% of its annual revenue from the North America market.

The case of Hershey's and Cadbury being rivals took a big turn due to a licensing agreement set back in 1988. In 1988, Hershey’s paid $300 million for the rights to Cadbury’s U.S. operations. Cadbury agreed; at the time, it saw no chance to compete against Hershey's and Mars, which controlled a combined 70% of the market.

Hershey's caused an uproar when it sued several importers of Cadbury products from the U.S. Hershey's uses a different recipe than the British chocolatier, and many former British residents want the authentic version. Cadbury's chocolate in the United Kingdom lists milk as the number one ingredient, while the American version made by Hershey’s has sugar as the number one ingredient.

Hershey's is in a unique position, as it is both a competitor and a distributor of Cadbury products. The long-time rights deal led many to believe that Cadbury and Hershey's would eventually merge, but that has not been the case. Nestle and Cadbury did at one time attempt a joint bid for Hershey's, but it ultimately fell through.

Nestle is the largest food company in the world, covering many different subsectors of the market. The company's chocolate market is one of its smallest, but it was good enough for a 5.8% market share in the U.S. Nestle has grown through many acquisitions that have given it control of brands that include Kit Kat, Smarties and Gerber baby food.

Nestle's confectionery segment was its sixth-largest in 2014. With sales of $9.7 billion globally, Nestle held the number three market share position. Sales of the company's chocolate products totaled $7 billion, including $4 billion from the Americas.

Similar to its deal with Cadbury, Hershey's also licenses several brands from Nestle for U.S. distribution rights. This includes Kit Kat and Rolo, two Nestle brands.