A California Superior Court judge has approved a settlement resolving claims over whether certain levels of lead and cadmium in chocolate require warning labels under California’s Prop 65 law.
Three major confectioners will carry a redesigned ‘Be treatwise’ label on certain products in the UK to encourage moderate consumption. Separately Nestlé is cutting sugar in its UK confectionery range.
Hershey is interested in acquiring businesses with ‘strong revenue growth in the $100bn snack wheel,’ said Hershey’s CFO Patricia Little at the recent CAGNY conference in Florida.
Nestlé UK will introduce a range of ‘more premium’ KitKat Senses chocolate in three flavors: hazelnut, double chocolate and salted caramel, later this month.
Manufacturers including Unilever, Mondelēz and Alpro are using claims of ‘new, improved recipe’ to hide ingredient "downgrading", according to a German consumer group.
Mondelēz International’s Milka Oreo and Storck’s Toffifay were among the winners of Kantar TNS’s 2018 Product of the Year Awards USA, based on a consumer survey of over 40,000 consumers.
The chocolate industry and supply chain actors recognize buying certified cocoa alone is not enough to make the supply chain sustainable. But what more needs to be done?
Mondelēz’s sustainability program, Cocoa Life, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghana Cocoa Board to help reduce emissions in its cocoa supply chain, ‘one of the biggest threats to sustainable cocoa production.’
Snack industry experts have long suspected Mars Wrigley’s acquiring a minority stake from KIND Snacks last year was its first move to eventually swallow one of the trendiest snack bar makers in the US.
Nestlé has posted flat organic sales growth in confectionery in fiscal 2017, but saw an uptick for premium brands such as Les Recettes De L’Atelier and sales in direct-to-consumer KitKat stores.
Premium chocolate manufacturer Russell Stover stepped out on the chilly Valentine’s morning in Chicago, giving away over 5,000 heart-shaped boxes of chocolate.
Trian Fund Management CEO Nelson Peltz, who pushed for a merger between Mondelēz and PepsiCo five years ago, will stand down from Mondelez’s Board of Directors as the Cadbury maker names two new members.
Nestlé USA faces a fresh class action lawsuit in the US for allegedly failing to disclose its chocolate brands may use cocoa from unlawful child or slave labor.
Mars plans to quit industry-funded science group, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), and says it will support research regardless of results after making its science policy public.
Mondelēz’s new CEO Dirk Van de Put, who replaced Irene Rosenfeld last November, called 2017 ‘a solid year’ as the company’s organic sales during Q4 and full fiscal year 2017 grew 2.4% and 0.9% respectively.
Nine major cocoa and chocolate companies have committed $8.5m to an initiative aiming to prove a business case to improve the quality of education in Ivorian cocoa communities.
Nestlé Japan will become the first confectioner to launch a product with Barry Callebaut’s ruby chocolate as it plans to introduce KitKat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby.
Mars Wrigley Confectionery has defended accusations it is fueling an unjust association between chocolate and health by funding cocoa flavanol research and says chocolate ‘should not be considered a health food’.
Nestlé has sold its US candy business ($924m in 2016 sales), which includes Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and Raisinets, to Nutella maker Ferrero for $2.8bn in cash.
Mondelēz has teamed up with Post Consumer Brands, Post Holdings’ cereal division, to launch several cereal products using flavors of its long-established cookie and cracker brands, including Honey Maid, Nutter Butter and Chips Ahoy.
Ferrero would become the ‘third largest player in chocolate confectionery in the world if it successfully acquires Nestlé’s US candy business, a deal that is expected to come through by the end of this week, said Euromonitor.
While Mars is currently the market leader in China’s chocolate confectionery space, Ferrero has been growing over the past five years with increased shares year-over-year, the latest Euromonitor data shows.
Hershey has decided not to renew its membership with the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) in 2018, but it remains part of the National Confectioners Association (NCA).
A scientist at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) said chocolate would not go extinct as reported by multiple media outlets recently, even though global warming could shrink the cultivatable areas for cocoa trees.
