Cloetta’s Joy Report studies joy in some of the world’s happiest countries

Stockholm, Sweden – In the last decade, the pursuit of happiness has dominated popular culture. Cloetta, a leading confectionery company in Northern Europe and home to some of the strongest brands on the market, believes that instead of happiness, we should focus on the pursuit of joy, since it is more accessible in everyday life and also offers many unknown positive benefits. It’s time to raise the societal awareness of the importance of moments of joy. Cloetta has hence today published the first edition of the Joy Report.  

In the report, Cloetta together with Professor Micael Dahlén from the Stockholm School of Economics and Frank Martela, a Finnish philosopher and researcher of psychology, among others, take a closer look at the nature of joy.  

The report explains how and when joy arises and manifests itself in especially Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark – countries that are often globally considered some of the happiest in the world, once again confirmed by the World Happiness Report, published last week.  

The Joy Report summarises the findings of a comprehensive study on the theme of joy, produced in collaboration with Ipsos, a global market research and public opinion specialist. The report can be downloaded at www.cloetta.com/joyreport2025.  

Selected key findings include:  

• 50% of Nordic citizens associate joy with relaxing at home 
• Only for 13% of the most joyful moments are high energy (e.g. parties or sports events) 
• 78% found new source of joy during the pandemic  
• 2 in 5 of joyful moments are totally spontaneous  

“My research shows that, in the Nordic countries, people are very aware that we are ranked as the happiest in the world. This affects how we see ourselves and our propensity to feel joy.”, says Swedish economics professor and author Micael Dahlen. 

“Research shows that people who try to maximize happiness actually tend to be more unhappy because they are unable to be satisfied with anything.“, says Frank Martela, a Finnish philosopher and researcher of psychology.  

“At Cloetta, we believe in spreading true joy and support joyful moments. We are very pleased to present the first edition of the Cloetta Joy Report, which is based on our purpose – the belief in the power of true joy. For decades, our brands have been invited to be part of precious joyful moments. With the report, we want to contribute to the societal understanding of how joyful moments arise and how they enrich our lives”, says Thomas Biesterfeldt, Chief Marketing Officer at Cloetta Group 

 
For more information and interview requests, kindly contact Cloetta’s global press desk:    

+46 766 96 59 40 

press (@) cloetta.com 

For more information from Cloetta and press images, visit www.cloetta.com/en/media/  

 
About Joy and Happiness 
Joy is more accessible in everyday life than happiness and offers many unknown positive benefits, but it is common for joy to be confused with happiness. Although both are positive emotions, they differ in intensity and duration. Joy is like a sparkler, it is bright, intense and short-lived, and it can be found in small everyday things. While happiness is like a warm fireplace – it is a comforting presence that provides continued warmth and is the result of long-term efforts. However, joyful experiences can be seen as contributing to building well-being and can also increase the chances of achieving happiness in the long term.  

About the Joy Report  
The study that forms the basis of the report was conducted in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland during November-December 2024. The Joy Report is produced in collaboration with Ipsos, a global market research and public opinion specialist. The report can be downloaded at www.cloetta.com/joyreport2025.