It’s been called recession-proof, and the latest numbers show chocolate sales won’t be melting anytime soon. Rockville, Md.-based market research firm Packaged Facts reports that the chocolate market—currently $17 billion worldwide— may exceed $19 billion in the U.S. alone by 2014.
7.5 percent: Growth in organic chocolate candy sales in 2010
35 percent: Growth in dark chocolate sales between 2001 and 2008 (other chocolate saw only a 1.5 percent increase)
6 percent: Estimated aggregate growth of cocoa production from 2009 to 2012
50 percent: Rate by which cocoa consumption can reduce cardiovascular mortality, according to a 15-year study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine