Sugar Rush U.S. entrepreneurs satisfy the world's sweet tooth.

As new parts of the global market warm up, the U.S. candyindustry's profits get sweeter by the day. According to theNational Confectioners Association (NCA), however, only 5 percentof U.S. manufacturers (more than 90 percent of which are small andmidsized businesses) are selling internationally, which meansthere's still room for would-be Willie Wonkas in this $21billion industry.

"Everybody likes candy," says James Johnson, theNCA's director of international marketing services. "Nomatter what the culture is, there's a good feeling attached toit."

But who has the biggest sweet tooth? Per capita, the NCA reportsit's Switzerland, followed by Austria and Germany. Butdon't start dreaming in euros: Europe is up to its eyeballs inchocolate. With the Asian market still sour, Latin America isemerging as the next hot spot for U.S. confections. The NCA, infact, plans to conduct trade missions to Argentina, Brazil andChile this fall. "More and more people there havediscretionary income," Johnson says, "and they'relooking to purchase feel-good products."