Food
Most Popular Candy Bars in America – Ranked by Sales
Americans spend roughly $25 billion on candy every year. The bulk of that goes toward a handful of candy bars in America that have defined the snack aisle for decades. This ranking looks at US retail sales data as the primary signal, with brand awareness figures from Statista (2025) as a secondary check. Sales estimates come from market research reports and retail tracking services; all figures are labeled as approximations since methodologies vary by source.
Snickers tops the list among traditional candy bars. Reese’s often claims the overall #1 spot when all candy formats (cups, pieces, and bars) are counted together. That distinction matters, and this list explains why.
Rankings at a Glance
| Rank | Bar | Maker | Approx. Annual US Sales | Launched |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snickers | Mars | ~$457M | 1930 |
| 2 | Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups | Hershey | ~$421-520M | 1928 |
| 3 | M&M’s | Mars | ~$409M | 1941 |
| 4 | Kit Kat | Hershey | ~$216M | 1935 (UK); US: 1970s |
| 5 | Twix | Mars | ~$192M | 1967 (UK); US: 1979 |
| 6 | Hershey’s Milk Chocolate | Hershey | ~250M bars/year | early 1900s |
| 7 | 3 Musketeers | Mars | ~$157M | 1932 |
| 8 | Milky Way | Mars | ~$156M | 1923 |
| 9 | Butterfinger | Ferrara | ~$130M (est.) | 1923 |
| 10 | Almond Joy | Hershey | ~$120M | 1946 |
Sales figures are estimates based on retail tracking and market research reports. Exact figures vary by year and data source.
1. Snickers
Mars Inc. launched Snickers in 1930. The bar was named after the Mars family’s horse. Its formula is straightforward: nougat, caramel, peanuts, and milk chocolate.
About 15 million Snickers bars roll off production lines every single day. Roughly 94% of Americans recognize the brand by name, per Statista (2025). Annual US sales sit near $457 million. It has held the top spot among traditional candy bars for years.
2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Reese’s came to life in 1928 when H.B. Reese started making them in his basement in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Hershey acquired the company in 1963 for $23.5 million. That acquisition now looks like one of the best deals in candy history, given what the brand generates today.
Here is the key distinction: Reese’s frequently ranks as the #1 selling candy brand in the United States when all formats are counted together (cups, pieces, and bars combined). Snickers remains the top-selling single candy bar format. The two trade places depending on how the category is defined. Reese’s annual US sales fall in the $421-520 million range.
The peanut butter and chocolate combination is a distinctly North American taste. It does not translate the same way in international markets.
3. M&M’s
M&M’s launched in 1941 in Newark, New Jersey, and come from Mars Inc. They are candy-coated chocolate pieces rather than a true bar, but they appear on every major US candy ranking, so they earn their place here.
Annual US sales hover around $409 million. More than 400 million M&M’s are produced every day across all varieties. The brand carries strong recognition, particularly around holiday gift tins and personalization options.
4. Kit Kat
Kit Kat traces back to 1935 in the United Kingdom, originally made by Rowntree’s. The US version has been produced under Hershey license since the 1970s.
Annual US sales come in around $216 million, with roughly 192 million individual Kit Kat pieces sold in the country each year. The name has a quirky origin story tied to a London jazz club called the Kit Cat Club.
5. Twix
Twix launched in the UK in 1967 and arrived in US stores in 1979, both under Mars Inc. The name appears to be a portmanteau of “twin” and “stix,” describing the two parallel bars packaged together.
US sales are roughly $192 million per year, with about 161 million Twix bars sold annually in the United States. The contrasting texture of chocolate, caramel, and cookie gives it a following that other bars do not quite replicate.
6. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar
This is the original American chocolate bar. Hershey introduced it in the early 1900s and it remains a staple.
About 250 million Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars sell in the US each year. The brand holds approximately 24% of the US candy bar market by value. Brand awareness sits at 91% (Statista, 2025). For many Americans, this bar is the default reference point for chocolate.
7. 3 Musketeers
Mars launched 3 Musketeers in 1932 with an unusual premise: the bar originally came in three flavors (vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate), which is how it got the name. The lineup was trimmed over time, leaving chocolate as the sole variety.
Annual US sales are roughly $157 million. The defining feature is the light, whipped nougat center. It feels less heavy than most chocolate bars, which is the entire appeal.
8. Milky Way
The Milky Way launched in 1923, created by Frank Mars. The original concept was a chocolate malted milkshake in bar form.
US sales sit around $156 million annually. One wrinkle worth knowing: the UK Milky Way and the US version are different products. The UK bar contains no caramel. That version is sold in the US as the Mars Bar. The American Milky Way has the caramel layer.
9. Butterfinger
Butterfinger came from the Curtiss Candy Company in Chicago. The name was chosen through a national public competition in the 1920s. The product now belongs to Ferrara.
The hallmark is the flaky, peanut-buttery crinkle crunch inside the chocolate shell. Curtiss used a memorable promotional stunt in the early days: bars were dropped from biplanes over cities to draw attention to both Butterfinger and Baby Ruth.
10. Almond Joy (and a note on Baby Ruth and PayDay)
Almond Joy launched in 1946 and is now owned by Hershey. It stacks coconut, an almond, and milk chocolate. Annual US sales sit above $120 million.
Baby Ruth is worth a quick mention. It packs nougat, caramel, and peanuts, but the origin of its name is genuinely disputed. The popular story ties it to baseball legend Babe Ruth. The company at the time insisted it was named after President Grover Cleveland’s daughter. historians still argue about it. Ferrara owns the brand today.
PayDay is the outlier worth knowing. Caramel and peanuts, zero chocolate. It showed up during the Depression era and found a following by being filling and cheap. If you want a popular candy bar without the chocolate component, this is the one.
The Companies Behind the List
Two companies dominate almost every entry on this list.
Mars Inc. makes Snickers, M&M’s, Twix, Milky Way, and 3 Musketeers. Combined US sales for those brands approach $1.37 billion. Hershey makes Reese’s, Hershey’s Bar, Kit Kat, Almond Joy, and PayDay, with combined US sales near $1.04 billion. Ferrara holds Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, and a few smaller names.
These three companies control the vast majority of the American candy bar market.
Closing
The top-selling candy bars have been around for 80 years or more. What changes is not the core lineup but the packaging: fun-size versions for Halloween, seasonal varieties around holidays, and limited editions that generate buzz without replacing the originals. The bars themselves are not going anywhere.