As sustainability continues to rise as a central focus in the confectionery industry, a battle is unfolding in the chocolate aisle.
As consumers become more environmentally conscious, brands—both big and small—are working to meet their expectations.
But with larger, more established brands tightening their grip on sustainability, challenger brands face a pivotal moment:
Will they continue to lead the charge, or will the giants close the gap? Here’s what the data—and the trends—reveal, writes Ian Yates, Director, Impact Score.
The Sustainability Race: A Complex Equation
Understanding sustainability in chocolate is more than just choosing the right packaging or ingredients. It’s about meeting a range of environmental, ethical, and social criteria. Impact Score’s Sustainability Index 2025 evaluates over 300,000 products from 13,000 brands and gives us a snapshot of how well the industry is keeping pace with consumer expectations. In the confectionery category, more than 6,200 products from nearly 700 brands are assessed, considering wide-ranging sustainability indicators such as animal welfare, nutritional value, packaging, carbon footprint and fairtrade certification.
This comprehensive view of sustainability tracks both short and long-term changes and offers insights into where brands—especially challengers—stand in the race (Figure 2).
Giants Gaining Ground: Big Brands Close the Gap
For years, challenger brands like Booja-Booja, Ombar, and Tony’s Chocolonely set the bar for sustainability in the chocolate aisle, but 2025 is shaping up to be a critical year. The Sustainability Index shows that while these challengers remain leaders in sustainability, their scores have declined in 2024 compared to 2023 (Figure 1). This suggests that even top performers face challenges as the industry’s standards continue to evolve. On the other hand, established players like Lindt, Guylian, and M&M’s have significantly improved their sustainability efforts, each improving their index scores by over 5%. While the challenger brands still lead, the momentum is shifting as the big players close the gap.
The key takeaway? It’s crunch time for underdogs. To maintain their position at the forefront of sustainability, challenger brands need to continue innovating and raising the bar, pushing even further into areas like supply chain transparency, carbon-neutral production, and full life-cycle assessments.
Evolving Trends: What’s Next in the Sustainability Race?
While sustainability remains a focal point for consumers, trends within the chocolate industry show signs of maturing. For instance, vegan chocolate—once a booming sector—has seen a decline in the number of new products despite its growing profitability. This reflects the fact that the market for vegan chocolate is stabilising, and established brands are focusing on refining their existing products rather than expanding new ranges. But as big players gain traction, challenger brands may need to adapt their approach. It’s no longer enough to simply adopt sustainability practices; challengers will need to differentiate themselves by offering more sustainable alternatives, focusing on areas such as ethical sourcing, transparency, and more ambitious environmental goals.
The Power of the Consumer: Driving the Industry Forward
Ultimately, the direction the industry takes will depend on consumer behaviour. As shoppers become more informed about sustainability issues, they wield significant influence over which brands succeed. Consumers’ preferences for ethically produced and environmentally friendly products will continue to push the industry in the right direction, forcing both big players and challengers to adapt.
However, the consumer’s role also goes beyond simply choosing products based on sustainability claims. As the sustainability race intensifies, shoppers will likely become more discerning, seeking out brands that go beyond token efforts and offer tangible, measurable impact.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Chocolate Sustainability
The future of chocolate sustainability will be shaped by both the continued rise of challenger brands and the response of big brands to the growing consumer demand for sustainability. In this race, the winners will be those that balance profit with purpose, meeting the evolving expectations of an increasingly conscious audience.
Whether it’s a classic chocolate bar or a bold new truffle, every purchase will play a part in shaping the future of the confectionery industry. For the underdogs, it’s time to rise to the challenge—because when it comes to sustainability, it’s crunch time.
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