As the recession was gaining ground in 2008, Swiss chocolate makers hit record sales – nearly 185,000 tons sold in Switzerland and around the world, which was an increase of 2% over 2007. In the first three months of 2009 at the height of the recession, profits at Hershey Co., spiked by 20 percent, and last year, global chocolate sales rose 2% to $83.2 billion.