Thank you for reading ICCR research. ICCR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization, and our studies — including the 2026 US Specialty Chocolate Consumer Survey and Market Study — are published open access. We believe the specialty chocolate industry is best served when honest, primary data is available to everyone: producers, makers, retailers, researchers, educators, and consumers alike. This document explains what open access means in practice, and what we ask of readers who put our research to commercial use.

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Open Access: What You May Freely Do

All published ICCR reports, data summaries, charts, and presentations may be read, downloaded, shared, and cited without requesting permission, provided ICCR is credited as the source. You are welcome to:

 

• Share ICCR reports and links with colleagues, members, students, and the public.

• Cite ICCR findings in articles, reports, theses, and media coverage — for example: “According to ICCR’s 2026 US Specialty Chocolate Consumer Survey…”

 

Unlike subscription or membership-based industry research, there is no limit on how many charts you may share and no login to safeguard. Attribution is the only requirement for noncommercial use.

 

For-Revenue or For-Profit Use: Please Notify Us First

If you intend to use ICCR research in a for-profit engagement, we ask that you notify ICCR before doing so so we can discuss the intended usage. Depending on the scope, a usage fee may apply. For-profit engagements include, but are not limited to:;

 

• Teaching — paid courses, workshops, certification programs, or corporate training that incorporate ICCR data or materials.

• Consulting — client work, advisory services, or paid analysis that draws on ICCR research.

• Fundraising — investor decks, grant applications, or capital raises that cite ICCR findings in support of a commercial venture.

• Resale or repackaging — incorporating ICCR data into reports, products, software, or services offered for sale.

 

To reproduce charts, graphs, and slides in revenue or commercial presentations and publications, it is imperative to keep the ICCR (and partners, if applicable) attribution visible on each one. 

 

In most cases these conversations are brief and collaborative — our goal is not to restrict use of the research, but to ensure that commercial value built on ICCR’s work helps sustain it. To notify us of an intended use, contact us at contact@chocolateinstitute.org. 

 

What Is Not Permitted

• Presenting ICCR research as your own work, or removing or obscuring ICCR attribution.

• Reselling ICCR reports or datasets, in whole or in part, without a usage agreement.

• Using ICCR datasets to train, fine-tune, or build commercial AI models, software, or data services without a usage agreement.

• Misrepresenting findings, altering data, or citing ICCR in ways that distort what the research actually shows.

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Support Our Work: Donate to ICCR

If you find ICCR research useful, we encourage you to donate. ICCR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

 

Donations do more than keep the lights on. They empower ICCR to match private funding and conduct industry-wide, pre-competitive research grounded in truthful, evidence-based information sharing with real producers, makers, and consumers, not estimations or AI-generated summaries. Every study we publish open access exists because readers and partners chose to invest in shared knowledge for the whole industry.

 

To donate or discuss supporting a study, visit https://www.chocolateinstitute.org/shop or contact contact@chocolateinstitute.org 

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