And, it shows. According to a new market research report by Global Research & Data Services, chocolate accounts for more than 55 % of total confectionary sales in the world.

Confections reached the $185.5 billion mark last year globally, with more than a 5% increase compared to last year.

It is no surprise that the United States landed in the top five countries in terms of confectionary market value, driven mostly in part by new flavors, ingredients and products.

Honey has done its part to boost the chocolate market in the United States, as Honey Stinger (chocolate waffle), Trader Joe’s (dark chocolate honey mints) and BeeAlive (chocolate honey mints) all have recently released new products.

Confectionary sales continue to grow, and Global Research & Data Services predicts the category reaching a global $208 billion mark by 2017.

Crochet’s love and passion for food was deepened through her time in Italy, as well as three years as a food buyer for Williams-Sonoma. Using her mother’s inspiration, Crochet creates Droga treats by combining nostalgic flavors with modern twists out of her Los Angeles-based kitchen.

Q: Can you talk further about your time in Italy, how it pertains to food, chocolate, and how you finally came to the conclusion you were going to start your own company?

A: Italy was an experience that changed my perception on food.  I not only ate in great restaurants, but it was especially at my family’s table, where we were eating the simplest of foods using the simplest of ingredients, where I was amazed. I learned that the best ingredients, however simple, would produce great food.

Q: Why is it important to you to use premium, local and organic ingredients (when possible)?

A: The best ingredients always produce the best product. Getting local ingredients supports our local environment, economy, and ensures our products are being made with the freshest ingredients possible!

Q: Where did the idea to work with honey in your caramels come from and what are the benefits of using honey for you personally?

A: The best attribute of honey is the amazing flavor. While there are so many honeys right now, we are focused on the unrefined California wildflower, which has wonderful delicate floral notes to it.  Whenever a batch of our honey caramel, called Put Your Money on Honey, is being made, I can’t help but smile at the scent of the wildflower honey wafting through the kitchen. I was inspired by the idea of using honey from trips to the Saturday farmer’s market at the San Francisco Ferry Building, which is where I was living at the time I developed it.  One day while testing batches, I must have been on the fourth or fifth batch, a large bumblebee came floating in through my open window. He gave me quite a startle, but it was amazing that the honey must have attracted him—who knows from how far away!

Q: Can you talk more about working with honey and your partnership with Bennett’s Honey Farm?

A: Bennett’s Honey Farm harvests delicious honey and is a small operation. They are easy to work with and always available, sharing information on honey and supplying us with some of the tastiest honey I have ever had.

Q: Why wildflower honey? Plans for more flavors?

A: It’s just so rich and nuanced. Our honey caramel is our best seller, so for now we are focused on that and trying to get it to market nationwide as best we can. But in the future, definitely anything is possible, and creating a distinctly different honey caramel with a different variety could be very exciting.

Q: Any other plans for new honey-infused products in the future?

A: It’s a great ingredient, so I’ll be working with honey in products for sure. It’s a great flavor booster.

These delicious confections are Kosher friendly.

Lake Champlain Chocolates formed in 1983 in Burlington, Vermont and aims to amaze with its fresh ingredients and flavors. In part with this aim, Lake Champlain is keeping an eye on its bees, with the hope of producing its own honey for the chocolates. By 2014 all of the company’s products will be made with fair trade certified chocolate.

Ingredients include pure Vermont honey, sugars, fresh cream and rich dark chocolate.

Want to see what other candy products contain honey?

• Betterbee Honey Lollipops
• Natural Honey Suckers
• Killer Bees Honey Candy

This is very important to a growing segment of consumers who intensely read labels and crave more natural and clean products, even from their candy indulgences.

How sweeteners are manufactured and their perceived naturalness has also received intense media scrutiny. Since honey is created in Mother Nature by honey bees, manufacturers that sweeten their products with honey don’t have to worry about the perception consumers will have when reading an ingredient listing

For candy bar or food bar manufacturers looking to capitalize on consumer demands for energy products, honey consumption fills the body with natural energy through its 17 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon. This makes the ingredient the ideal sweetener for a line of natural energy bars.

Betterbee is a wholesale and retail beekeeping supply business located in Greenwich, N.Y. Its three current owners Chris, Joe and Jack have been beekeepers or involved with bees for for more than 25 years. Betterbee was founded on a Bob and Margaret Stevens’ family farm in 1979.

Ingredients: Honey, Evaporated Cane Juice, Brown Rice Syrup

Want to see what other products are made with honey?

• Honees Natural Candies
• Dark Chocolate Salted Honey Caramel
• Lake Champlain Honey Caramels

1. KIND Bars

Making a showing at both Expo West and the Dr. Oz show, where nutrition expert Heidi Skolnik recommended the bars, the entire KIND line includes honey, whole nuts, spices and fruits. A new Yale study showed that snacking on two KIND bars a day helps to suppress your appetite and reduce overeating—sounds like an ideal snack to us.

2. Barenjager Honey & Bourbon Liqueur

Our office taste test won us over, making this product No. 2 on our list. The taste of whiskey married with the smooth sweetness of honey made for a great drink for any occasion.

3. Kinnikinnick Foods S’Moreables Graham Style Crackers

Not only are these gluten-free, they are wheat-free, dairy-free and casein-free—a great comfort to know America’s favorite campfire snack can be enjoyed by all.

Philippe Levresse, head of Roquette’s Confectionery Technical Services, says that the top nutritional claim for new confectionary products is sugar-free. Reduced-calorie confections also are high on the demand list.

Sweeteners such as honey are being used as alternatives in candy, especially chocolate. Levresse says that even though naturally sweetened confections still are a niche market, it’s definitely a growing one.  Since honey has a long history as an all-natural sweetener, it’s an easy choice to add to candy.

According to a National Honey Board survey of 423 consumers, 44% said they have bought lozenges sweetened with honey, and 27% would buy honey sweetened lozenges in the future. Hard candy ranks a quick second at 24%, but has more room for growth with 36% of those surveyed saying they would buy hard candies sweetened with honey.

Filling the body with natural energy, honey has 17 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon, which makes it an ideal way to satisfy candy lovers’ sweet cravings.

Queen Bee Gardens, based in Lovell, Wyoming, is a company that specializes in honey-centric candy. Clarence and Bessie Zeller started selling honey to support their young family, and in 1976, their sons decided to expand the business to include making candy. The family-owned business now produces 60 hand-crafted, hand-dipped confections, all made with pure honey from its own honey bees.

• http://www.bakingwithhoney.com/candywithhoney/2011/12/lake-champlain-honey-caramels/
• http://www.bakingwithhoney.com/candywithhoney/2011/08/donna-company-cocoabee-honey-caramels/

Mars Incorporated ranks No. 1 overall, with net sales of $16.8 billion in 2012. Mars’ Snickers line recently expanded to include the Marathon Crunchy Honey Graham Bar.

Mondelez International had $15.4 billion in sales, largely due in part to its manufacturing of both candy and snack products. Mondelez recently premiered Honey Made Lil’ Squares, made with real honey and 10 grams of whole grains per 30-gram serving.

Grupo Bimbo manufactures chocolate bars, truffles, pralines, filled chocolates and more, all to the tune of $14 billion.

Nestle employs approximately 281,000 people and has net sales coming in at $12.8 billion. Honey-based cereal is a big part of the Nestle line, helping take this company to the No. 4 spot.

Rounding out the Top 5 is Meiji with $12.8 billion in net sales. Even though this company is based in Japan, Bit-O-Honey, a Meiji product, is a hugely popular candy in the United States.

How sweeteners are manufactured and their perceived naturalness also has received intense media scrutiny. Since honey is produced or created in Mother Nature by bees, manufacturers that sweeten their products with honey don’t have to worry about the perception consumers will have when reading an ingredient listing.

For candy bar or food bar manufacturers looking to capitalize on consumer demands for energy products, honey consumption fills the body with natural energy through its 17 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon. This makes the ingredient the ideal sweetener for a line of natural energy bars.