The confectionery cooking and depositing equipment supplier said it is targeting Asian and Latin America sweet makers in particular with the modification it has made to the mould circuit for its ServoForm lollipop depositors, which allows a totally spherical ball lollipop to be produced and which will be showcased at Pro Sweets in February 2010.
Baker Perkins marketing manger Keith Graham told Confectionerynews.com that preferences for confectionery and lollipops flavours and types does not always exist in developing countries as compared to the US and European markets and as a result the equipment firm sees the largest growth potential in those regions.
“The scope for increasing installation capacity in confectionery manufacturers' plants in the developed markets is rather limited, and as a result, we are, essentially following the multinationals or larger regional manufactures around, and installing new lines for them as they set up in emerging countries,” added Graham.
And he said that the company’s focus in terms of the more mature confectionery manufacturing markets is on lifetime service of equipment, and ways of improving operational efficiencies for processors.
Market potential
According to a recent Leatherhead Research report, the global sugar confectionery market in 2008 was worth more than $41.3bn, having risen by almost 14 per cent in value terms since 2004.
And while growth has been rather modest in developed regions in recent years due to market maturity and consumers trying to reduce their sugar intake based on health concerns, more robust growth has been experienced in Latin America and the Far East region.
In Latin America, claims the Leatherhead report, the market value for sugar confectionery has risen by almost 12 per cent since 2004. Sugar confectionery remains a favourite amongst large sections of the population in the region owing to its affordability.
And strong growth, said the market analysts, has also occurred within the Far East region, mainly as a result of rising demand in populous countries such as China and Indonesia.
Larger lollipops
Graham said that the company’s patent pending lollipop innovation results in improved aesthetics and mouth feel for the finished product and greater support area for the stick which is particularly important for centre-filled products.
He said that the ServoForm depositors handle up to four different components independently and this gives limitless scope for different variations of end product, and also allowing the production of larger lollipops, which allow space for design creativity.
According to Graham, R&D developments at Baker Perkins are also being informed by the trend for all things modular, and a new system called AutoCook, configured from a wide array of proven units and integrated through a control system, will get an introduction at the Cologne trade show.
The system, according to the company, can be configured to make both soft and hard candies, and can handle batch or continuous weighing, mixing and dissolving, plus continuous cooking, while preparation systems for soft centres, gum centres and Xylitol products can also be integrated.